Trauma
Written by Rhiana Devadasan
24) Trauma. Definition. Types and classification.
Trauma = a body wound produced by sudden physical injury (both of onset and severity) from impact, violence or accident, which require immediate medical attention.
Etymology (origin of the word):
"Trauma" in Greek means "wound".
CAUSES OF TRAUMATIC INJURIES:
- Falls
- Road traffic accidents (involving motor vehicles, motorbikes, pedestrians)
- Gunshot wounds
- Sports injuries
- Stabbings
- Accidents
- Natural disasters
- Terrorism/war
- Homicide
- Domestic violence
- Sexual abuse
Classification
Based on type of injury:
- Blunt
- Penetrating wound
Based on anatomical location:
- Abdominal trauma
- Facial trauma
- Cardiac
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Skull fracture
- Burns
- Subdural hematoma
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
Based on cause:
- Blunt force
- from an object
- Crush force
- movement + pressure
- a bite
- getting trapped in a machine
- heavy weight (asphyxial)
- environmental pressure (barotrauma)
- Penetrating force
- sharp object penetration or impalement
- Physical force
- electrical
- laser rays
- solar energy radiation
- wind pressure
- Thermal
- heat
- lightning
- hypothermia
- Toxicological
- external exposure
- internal exposure
Based on severity:
(based on type of injury, physical location of injury & how many injuries there are)
- Major trauma (an injury that has potential to cause prolonged disability or death - multiple traumas & severe ones at that)
- Moderate trauma
- Minor trauma
Injury Severity Score (ISS)
The Injury Severity Score is an established medical score to assess trauma severity. It is used to define the term major trauma (an injury that has potential to cause prolonged disability or death).
Factors it takes into account:
- Mortality (the condition of being dead)
- Morbidity (the condition of being ill, diseased or unhealthy)
- Hospitalization time after trauma.
The ISS classifies each injury in every body region according to its relative severity on a six point ordinal scale:
- Minor
- Moderate
- Serious
- Severe
- Critical
- Maximal (currently untreatable).
There are six body regions:
- Head/Neck
- Face
- Thorax
- Abdomen/Pelvis
- Extremities
- External
Complications of Trauma:
- Haemorrhage – losing large amounts of blood can result in shock and other complications
- Infection or sepsis – the presence of open wounds increases risk of infection
- Multi-organ failure – when one or more organs, such as kidneys or liver, begin to stop working.
- Trauma
- A body wound produced by sudden physical injury (both of onset and severity) from impact, violence or accident, which require immediate medical attention.
- Blunt trauma
- Injury caused by a dull object or surface.
- Does not penetrate the body.
- Stems from forces such as compression (crushing), shearing (tearing), acceleration and deceleration.