Patient selection:
(1) age >= 14 years
(2) in hemodynamic shock on admission
(3) unresponsive to initial fluid resuscitation
Common causes of mortality in these patients:
(1) massive exsanguination
(2) multiple organ failure
Risk factors for mortality:
(1) higher age
(2) higher injury severity scale (ISS)
(3) lower revised trauma score (RTS)
(4) higher red blood cell transfusion needs during the first 24 hours
Cutoffs for increased risk:
(1) age > 60 years (results, page 31)
(2) ISS: suggest >= 37 (based on Table 3, page 34)
(3) RTS: suggest <= 5 (based on Table 3, page 34)
(4) 24 hour blood transfusion: suggest >= 9 (based on Table 3, page 34)
where:
• A lower Glasgow coma score is associated with mortality (Table 3, page 34).
• The beta coefficients for the risk factors are given in Table 7 but no intercept is given. The beta coefficients are 0.072 for age, 0.044 for ISS, 0.086 for blood transfusion, and -0.639 for RTS.
