Journal of emergencies, trauma, and shock
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We noted a bimodal relationship between mortality and shock index (SI), the ratio of heart rate to systolic blood pressure. ⋯ Our data indicate a bimodal relationship between SI and mortality in head injured patients that persists after correction for various co-factors. The distribution of mortality is different between head injured patients and patients without head injuries. Elevated SI predicts death in all trauma patients, but low SI values only predict death in head injured patients.