Muscle Oxygen Saturation Improves Diagnostic Association Between Initial Vital Signs and Major Hemorrhage: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: During initial assessment of trauma patients, vital signs do not identify all patients with life-threatening hemorrhage. We hypothesized that a novel vital sign, muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2 ), could provide independent diagnostic information beyond routine vital signs for identification of hemorrhaging patients who require packed red blood cell (RBC) transfusion.

Methods: This was an observational study of adult trauma patients treated at a Level I trauma center.