Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Persons who sustain severe traumatic injury, i.e., those with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16 or above, go on to suffer major physical, emotional, and socio-economic consequences. It is important to know the incidence of severe trauma so that these patients can be cared for optimally. ⋯ Data from a prospectively maintained nationwide trauma registry were used for the first time to calculate the annual incidence of severe traumatic injury in Germany: the expected number of severely injured persons per year is 18 200-18 400. Previous extrapolations yielded values in the range of 32 500-35 300. A high variability of documentation practices among supraregional trauma centers may have distorted the estimate, along with other factors. The figures were not normalized for age or sex.