Journal of Trauma and Injury

The Korean Society of Traumatology (대한외상학회)
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Validation of chest trauma scoring systems in polytrauma: a retrospective study with 1,038 patients in Korea

  • Hongrye Kim (Department of Neurosurgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Mou Seop Lee (Department of Neurosurgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Su Young Yoon (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Jonghee Han (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Jin Young Lee (Department of Trauma Surgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Junepill Seok (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital)
  • Received : 2023.12.20
  • Accepted : 2024.01.26
  • Published : 2024.06.30
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Abstract

Purpose: Appropriate scoring systems can help classify and treat polytrauma patients. This study aimed to validate chest trauma scoring systems in polytrauma patients. Methods: Data from 1,038 polytrauma patients were analyzed. The primary outcomes were one or more complications: pneumonia, chest complications requiring surgery, and mortality. The Thoracic Trauma Severity Score (TTSS), Chest Trauma Score, Rib Fracture Score, and RibScore were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis in patients with or without head trauma. Results: In total, 1,038 patients were divided into two groups: those with complications (822 patients, 79.2%) and those with no complications (216 patients, 20.8%). Sex and body mass index did not significantly differ between the groups. However, age was higher in the complications group (64.1±17.5 years vs. 54.9±17.6 years, P<0.001). The proportion of head trauma patients was higher (58.3% vs. 24.6%, P<0.001) and the Glasgow Coma Scale score was worse (median [interquartile range], 12 [6.5-15] vs. 15 [14-15]; P<0.001) in the complications group. The number of rib fractures, the degree of rib fracture displacement, and the severity of pulmonary contusions were also higher in the complications group. In the area under the ROC curve analysis, the TTSS showed the highest predictive value for the entire group (0.731), head trauma group (0.715), and no head trauma group (0.730), while RibScore had the poorest performance (0.643, 0.622, and 0.622, respectively) Conclusions: Early injury severity detection and grading are crucial for patients with blunt chest trauma. The chest trauma scoring systems introduced to date, including the TTSS, are not acceptable for clinical use, especially in polytrauma patients with traumatic brain injury. Therefore, further revisions and analyses of chest trauma scoring systems are recommended.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors received no financial support for this study.

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