Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Injury Severity Score
Introduction
The Injury Severity Score (ISS) is an established medical score to asses trauma severity. It correlates with mortality, morbidity and hospitalization time after trauma. It is used to define the term polytrauma.
Abbreviated Injury Scale AIS
Abbreviated Injury Scale AIS
The ISS is based (see below) upon the Abbreviated Injury Scale AIS. The AIS describes the severity of injury to one body region: 1 Minor, 2 Moderate, 3 Serious, 4 Severe, 5 Critical, 6 Maximal (currently untreatable).
ISS Definition
ISS Definition
ISS = A^2 + B^2 + C^2; A, B, C being the AIS score of the three most injured of the following body regions: head, face, thorax, abdomen, extremities (incl. pelvis).