The scenescore for improved pre-hospital triage of motor-vehicle crash victims

Schulman, C. I.; Wilbur, V.; Leibowitz, B.; Labiste, L.; Perdeck, E.; Bahouth, G.; Digges, K.; Augenstein, J. S.

Affiliations

¹William Lehman Injury Research Center, University of Miami – Miller School of Medicine, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, Miami, Florida

Abstract

The SceneScore is a simple mechanism of injury scoring system designed to facilitate the appropriate triage of crash victims. It comprises 7 variables including age, collision type, impact location, airbag deployment, steering wheel deformity, intrusion, and restraint use. A cutoff value of 7 or 8 provides the maximum balance between sensitivity and specificity, with sensitivities of 75% to 83% and specificities of 29% to 46%. For cases triaged to the trauma center based only on high suspicion of injury, the SceneScore reduces the overtriage rate by almost half. Proper application of the SceneScore may lead to improved triage and enhanced communication of mechanism of injury criteria.

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