title: Comparative performance of the Baxt Trauma Triage Rule.
abstract: New methods of deciding which patients require trauma center transport continue to be devised. Baxt recently published a Trauma Triage Rule (TTR) using anatomic injury, blood pressure, and elements of the Glascow Coma scale which can be used to identify adult major trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the TTR against three previously published trauma triage instruments; the Triage-Revised Trauma Score, the Prehospital Index, and the CRAMS scale. We applied these rules to a data base of trauma patients transported by the Cleveland, Ohio Emergency Medical Services System. All four instruments identified adult trauma patients who either died or required emergent operations with sensitivities of at least .85. The specificity of the TTR exceeded that of the CRAMS. We conclude that the TTR is an effective means of identifying patients who either die or require emergent operation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44109.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Emerman
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shade
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kubincanek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012119:Respiration; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014218:Triage; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*