Trauma scores

Abstract

A score in medicine is a one-dimensional value that describes a rather complex situation. A score is usually a combination of several aspects of the complex situation, each of which is also expressed as a value or category. For example, the critical state of a patient admitted to an intensive care unit represents a complex clinical situation. This situation is determined by the patient (age, sex, chronic diseases), his or her previous history (MI, surgery, emergency), the actual physical state (circulation, blood gases, organ function), and the current treatment (ventilation, dialysis). If the severity of such a case could be described, then the circumstances could be described literally, which is most appropriate when only the individual instance is considered (e.g., if this patient is to be transferred to another ward). However, if groups of patients are considered such as in clinical studies, scientific reports, or benchmarking statistics for quality audits, this approach would not work. The severity of the case must be described in a way that makes it possible to compare the individual case with many other cases.