American journal of surgery
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Comparative Study
Comparison of APACHE II, Trauma Score, and Injury Severity Score as predictors of outcome in critically injured trauma patients.
Trauma Score (TS), APACHE II score, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) have been utilized to quantitate severity of illness in various groups of patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of the APACHE II score, TS, and "computer-derived" ISS with outcome in critically injured trauma patients. Data were recorded prospectively in a computer database for 428 consecutive trauma admissions. ⋯ APACHE II score was the best predictor of both ICU and hospital outcome in these critically ill trauma patients. However, when combining all three measures (APACHE II score, TS, and ISS), only a portion of the variance in outcome is explained by the scores (R2 < 0.05). We conclude that scoring systems for outcome prediction should be utilized only as an adjunct to clinical assessment in the evaluation of the severity of illness and mortality risk in critically ill trauma patients.