A Novel Approach to Identify Polytraumatized Patients in Extremis

Introduction. Due to the fact that early objective identification of polytraumatized patients in extremis is crucial for carrying out immediate life-saving measures, our objectives were to provide and scrutinize a definition that results in a particularly high mortality rate and to identify predictors of mortality in this group. Materials and Methods. A polytraumatized patient (ISS >= 16) was classified "in extremis" if five out of seven parameters (arterial paCO(2) > 50 mmHg, hemoglobin < 9.5 g/dl, pH value < 7.2, lactate level > 4 mmol/l, base excess < -6 mmol/l, shock index > 1, and Horowitz index < 300) were met. By applying this definition, polytraumatized patients (age > 18 years), admitted to our level I trauma center within a time period of three years, were retrospectively allocated to the "in extremis" group and to an age-, gender-, and ISS-matched "non-in extremis" group for comparison. Results. Out of 64 polytraumatized patients (mean ISS, 43.6), who formed the "in extremis" group, 36 patients (56.3%) died, thus revealing a threefold higher mortality rate than in the matched group (18.9%). Within the "in extremis" group, age and ISS were identified as predictors of mortality. Conclusion. Our definition might serve as a valuable early warning score or at least an impetus for defining polytraumatized patients in extremis in clinical practice.