Do Mechanism-of-Injury Triage Criteria Predict Need for Trauma Center?

Only anatomical and physiological criteria are validated indications for transport to a trauma center, but many systems also use mechanism of injury (MOI) criteria, which are largely based on expert consensus opinion. In a prospective observational 2-year study, investigators assessed the predictive value of MOI criteria in a convenience sample of 9483 adults who presented to three level I regional trauma centers directly from the scene of injury and who did not meet physiological or anatomical criteria. The trauma centers were primary receiving centers for patients with traumatic injuries, regardless of whether they met criteria for trauma-center transport.

Of 2363 patients who were transported to a trauma center on the basis of MOI criteri…