INJURY EVALUATION. REGISTRATION OF INJURIES AND MEDICAL CARE CONSUMPTION

The aim of this investigation was to study the applicability of injury evaluation systems such as AIS-80 (abbreviated injury scale) and ISS (injury severity score) in comparisons between different accident materials and in cost effective analysis in the field of medical care. A total of 195 patients, who had been hospitalized as a result of accidents were studied retrospectively. It was found that 133 diagnoses (27%) according to the ICO classification had not been reported to the official statistical bureau. In the ico system injuries are grouped according to their nature, while their location in regions or organs of the body is of subordinate importance. In the AIS-80 system the most severe injury within the respective body regions is noted according to a scoring system with a scale of 1-6, where 1 corresponds to a slight injury and 6 to an injury which is as a rule fatal. In the ISS system the AIS-score for the three most severely injured body regions are taken into account. Supplementation of the diagnostic statistics as classified by the ICD system with an assessment of the degree of severity of an accident in accordance to the AIS, and ISS classifications will substantially increase the possibility of making valid comparisons between different patient materials with respect both to therapeutic results and to medical care needs. (TRRL)