[Severely traumatized patients admitted to Aarhus Community Hospital 1994-1995].

In Denmark, only few studies have addressed the problem of severe trauma. In relation to establishing a trauma manual at our hospital we studied trauma patients requiring immediate anaesthesiological assistance. Patients from the preceeding years, 1994-1995 were identified. The injuries were scored according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and Injury Severity Scores (ISS) were calculated. Two hundred and fifty-eight trauma patients were identified, 132 of these were severely injured, defined as having ISS > or = 15. Of these, 75 patients were multitraumatised, defined as AIS > or = 3 in at least two regions. None of the patients with ISS < or = 15 died. Mortality was 49% among severely injured but not multitraumatised patients, while mortality was 56% among the multitraumatised patients. Head injuries were the most frequently found severe injury (AIS > or = 3), followed by injuries to the thorax and extremities. The anaesthesiologist and the orthopaedic surgeon were involved in initial diagnosis and treatment in all patients, and beyond these a variety of medical specialties were involved. In the light of this study we have revised our procedures and registration concerning severe trauma patients.