Validity of Physiologic Criteria for Trauma Center Transport in Patients with TBI

Patients with traumatic brain injury who met any of the three physiologic criteria in the ACS-COT guidelines had significantly higher mortality than those who did not meet criteria.

In 2006, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) published guidelines for determining which patients would benefit from transport to a trauma center. The guidelines include the following physiologic criteria: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score <14, systolic blood pressure (SBP) <90 mm Hg, and/or respiratory rate <10 or >29 breaths per minute (<20 for patients younger than 1 year). To determine the validity of these criteria in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), researchers analyzed data from the 2007 National Trauma Data Bank National Sample Program for 52,000 patients with TBI who were alive on arrival at 82 level I and II trauma centers.

Twenty percent of patients had GCS scores <14 (13% had scores <8), 4% had S…

Reviewing Author

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices