Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Trauma resources should be spent rationally. The mechanism of trauma is used extensively to triage patients to appropriate levels of care. We examine the hypothesis that patients with "insignificant" mechanism of trauma may have major injuries that require expert trauma care. ⋯ Low-energy trauma may produce significant injuries, predominantly intracranial and skeletal. Trauma care providers should be cautious about dismissing such patients based on the trivial mechanism of injury. Patients with LLF who are older than 55 years and not severely intoxicated have a high likelihood for significant injuries. Resources should be spent rationally for patients who do not have these characteristics, because the probability of significant injuries among them is low, but not zero.