European journal of pediatric surgery : official journal of Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgery ... [et al] = Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie
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Introduction In the adult population, assessment of blood consumption (ABC) score [penetrating mechanism, positive focused assessment sonography for trauma (FAST), systolic blood pressure < 90, and heart rate (HR) > 120] ≥2 identifies trauma patients who require massive transfusion (MT) with sensitivity and specificity of 75 and 86%. We hypothesized that the adult criteria cannot be applied to children, as the vital sign cut-offs are not age-adjusted. We aimed to determine if the use of a shock index, pediatric age-adjusted (SIPA) would improve the discriminate ability of the ABC score in children. ⋯ Conclusions Adult-based criteria for activation of MT perform poorly in the pediatric population. The use of SIPA modestly improves the sensitivity of the ABC score in children; however, the sensitivity and specificity of this score are still worse than when used in an adult population. This suggests the need to develop a new score that takes into account the low rate of penetrating trauma and positive FAST in the pediatric population.