%0 Journal Article
%T Assessment of the effects and limitations of the 1998 to 2008 Abbreviated Injury Scale map using a large population-based dataset
%A Cameron S Palmer
%A Melanie Franklyn
%J Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1757-7241-19-1
%X The entire AIS98-coded injury dataset of a large population based trauma registry was retrieved and mapped to AIS08 using the currently available AIS98-AIS08 dictionary map. The percentage of codes which had increased or decreased in severity, or could not be mapped, was examined in conjunction with the effect of these changes to the calculated ISS. The potential for free text information accompanying AIS coding to improve the quality of AIS mapping was explored.A total of 128280 AIS98-coded injuries were evaluated in 32134 patients, 15471 patients of whom were classified as major trauma. Although only 4.5% of dictionary codes decreased in severity from AIS98 to AIS08, this represented almost 13% of injuries in the registry. In 4.9% of patients, no injuries could be mapped. ISS was potentially unreliable in one-third of patients, as they had at least one AIS98 code which could not be mapped. Using AIS08, the number of patients classified as major trauma decreased by between 17.3% and 30.3%. Evaluation of free text descriptions for some injuries demonstrated the potential to improve mapping between AIS versions.Converting AIS98-coded data to AIS08 results in a significant decrease in the number of patients classified as major trauma. Many AIS98 codes are missing from the existing AIS map, and across a trauma population the AIS08 dataset estimates which it produces are of insufficient quality to be used in practice. However, it may be possible to improve AIS98 to AIS08 mapping to the point where it is useful to established registries.Accurately determining the burden of significant injury within a given population is an essential role of a trauma system. Trauma data can be used for a range of applications including monitoring changes in injury epidemiology, trauma management and outcome over time, appropriate direction of funding, and population or outcome comparisons between institutions or regions. In order to monitor trauma systems most effectively, trauma registri
%U http://www.sjtrem.com/content/19/1/1