title: Development of a time sensitivity score for frequently occurring motor vehicle crash injuries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Injury severity alone is a poor indicator of the time sensitivity of injuries. The purpose of the study was to quantify the urgency with which the most frequent motor vehicle crash injuries require treatment, according to expert physicians.
  
  
  METHODS
  The time sensitivity was quantified for the top 95% most frequently occurring Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ injuries in the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) 2000-2011. A Time Sensitivity Score was developed using expert physician survey data in which physicians were asked to determine whether a particular injury should go to a Level I/II trauma center and the urgency with which that injury required treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When stratifying by AIS severity, the mean Time Sensitivity Score increased with increasing AIS severity. The mean Time Sensitivity Scores by AIS severity were as follows: 0.50 (AIS 2); 0.78 (AIS 3); 0.92 (AIS 4); 0.97 (AIS 5); and 0.97 (AIS 6). When stratifying by anatomical region, the head, thorax, and abdomen were the most time sensitive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Appropriate triage depends on multiple factors, including the severity of an injury, the urgency with which it requires treatment, and the propensity of a significant injury to be missed. The Time Sensitivity Score did not correlate highly with the widely used AIS severity scores, which highlights the inability of AIS scores to capture all aspects of injury severity. The Time Sensitivity Score can be useful in Advanced Automatic Crash Notification systems for identifying highly time sensitive injuries in motor vehicle crashes requiring prompt treatment at a trauma center.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics, Winston-Salem, NC; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC. Electronic address: sschoell@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Samantha L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Schoell
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Andrea N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Doud
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics, Winston-Salem, NC; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Ashley A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Jennifer W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Talton
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Ryan T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: R Shayn
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: J Wayne
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Meredith
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics, Winston-Salem, NC; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Stitzel
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000465:Algorithms; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D013997:Time Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy