Paediatric Injury Scoring and Trauma Registry

Introduction Injury scoring systems are designed to accurately assess injury severity, appropriately triage the injured, and develop and refine trauma patient care.1 Trauma scores quantify the severity and extent of injury, aid with the prediction of survival and subsequent morbidity,2 and allow health care providers to communicate in common terms. One disadvantage of injury scoring systems is that patient information is reduced to a simple score, and important details may be lost. To accurately estimate patient outcome, it is necessary to precisely assess the patient’s anatomic and physiologic injury, as well as any preexisting medical conditions that can impair the patient’s ability to respond to the stress of the injuries sustained. Understanding and appropriate use of trauma scoring systems, along with the use of specific treatment guidelines, can significantly contribute to improvement in the prognosis of injured children. The majority of the injury scoring systems used in children today are extrapolations of the same systems used in adults but with some modifications.3 Injury scoring systems are divided into anatomic, physiologic, and combined categories.2,3 Some of the scoring systems are discussed in further detail within the following sections, with demonstrations of their use where possible.