[An innovative software for emergency diagnostics of injury severity at a traffic accident scene].
OBJECTIVE
With respect to the restricted diagnostic possibilities at an accident scene and the limited time for decisions essential for survival, this project dealt with severe injuries with an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 3-6 in traffic accidents. The objective was the development of a diagnostic aid that can be used directly at the accident site.


METHODS
The analysis was based on data from the GIDAS (German in depth accident study) files from the years 1999-2006. To investigate the accident parameters and to draw up the injury risk functions a multivariate regression analysis of 5,010 traffic accidents was performed.


RESULTS
For the 20 most prevalent severe injuries of passenger car drivers and front seat passengers the cumulative influence of clearly evident factors was depicted and the combined likelihood was calculated. For the utilization at the accident scene software has been developed to display these likelihoods in a simple and comprehensible manner.


CONCLUSIONS
At the accident scene crucial diagnostic indications can be acquired with simple observation and a software-assisted analysis.
Brehme
H
H
Verkehrsunfallforschung an der TU Dresden GmbH, Zellescher Weg 24, 01217, Dresden. brehme@vufo.de
Hannawald
L
L
Zwipp
H
H
D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000639:trends*; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000145:classification*; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D013686:Telemetry / Q000379:methods*; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*