Recognizing, scoring, and predicting blast injuries.

The aim of this study was to find relevant signs and readily available parameters for the recognition of blast injuries and estimation of their severity. The injury severity, estimated by the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Red Cross Wound Classification (RCWC), and experimentally defined Pathology Scoring System for Blast Injuries (PSS/IS) according to Yelverton and modified for use in humans, was compared with a great number of subjective sensations, clinical signs, parameters of hemodynamic, metabolic, neuroendocrine and immune conditions. On the basis of these data, the confidence of the above-mentioned methods was analyzed in the evaluation of blast injuries. This study included 1303 casualties, wounded by explosive devices and with suspected blast injuries, treated at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade (MMA) from 1991 to 1994. The patients were examined on admission at the MMA ( Language: en