A progress report on the trauma score in predicting a fatal outcome.

Advances in prehospital care have increased the number of trauma patients arriving in extremis in the emergency room. In-hospital resuscitation focuses on an aggressive team approach, raising the specter that some patients who have little chance of survival may receive protracted, but futile, resuscitation efforts. This study examined the physiologic severity on admission and associated costs for resuscitation efforts of severely injured trauma patients who died within 48 hours post admission. The data suggest that a Trauma Score less than or equal to 3 is valuable in identifying patients for whom prolonged resuscitation is futile. The decision to discontinue resuscitation, however, must include consideration of other relevant clinical data.