Use of the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) as a Predictor of Patient Outcome in Cases of Trauma Presenting in the Trauma and Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Institute

Background: In this study, we used the anatomic scoring system Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) to calculate the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the physiological scoring system for the Revised Trauma Score (RTS) on the arrival of patients. Both scores were used to calculate the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) for predicting the patient outcome in a case of trauma. Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was carried out at the trauma centre of a tertiary care institute and included patients of either sex, age ≥18 years, and ISS ≥15. A total of 2084 cases of trauma over a period of 18 months were assessed, and 96 cases of blunt trauma meeting the inclusion criteria were studied. Results: Patients injured in road traffic accidents constituted the maximum caseload. Out of a sample size of 96 patients with ISS ≥15, 77 died during the treatment and 19 survived. The ISS ranged from 15 to 66, with a mean ± SD score of 27.48 ± 8.79. Non-survivors had a statistically higher significant ISS than survivors (p<0.001). The RTS ranged from <1 to 7.84, with a mean ± SD score of 4.52 ± 2.08. Non-survivors had low RTS (RTS <5, n=52) compared to survivors, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). The mean ± SD TRISS (Ps) score was 0.69 ± 2.288. In the non-survivor (NS) group, 15 patients had TRISS (Ps) between 0.26-0.50, followed by 0.51-0.75 (n=18), 0.76-0.90 (n=12), and 0.90-0.95 (n=11). While 16 survivors had TRISS (Ps) between 0.96 and 1, a statistically significant association was found between TRISS and patient outcome (p-value <0.001). On the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the sensitivity of TRISS (94.7%) and RTS was found to be comparable (94.7%), whereas ISS was less sensitive (36.8%) in predicting the patient outcome. RTS (79.2%) and TRISS (76.6%) scores were more specific than ISS (5.2%) for outcome analysis. Conclusion: The TRISS score is useful in the management of trauma patients as it can satisfactorily predict mortality in a case of trauma. The trauma scores are of immense help in determining the nature of injury in medicolegal cases.