Evaluation of the injury impairment scale, a tool to predict road crash sequelae, in a French cohort of road crash survivors.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the present study was to validate sequelae prediction by the Maximal Injury Impairment Score (M-IIS) in comparison with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) assessed at 1-year follow-up of severe road crash victims.

METHODS

The study population came from "the Etude et Suivi d'une Population d'Accidentés de la Route dans le Rhône" (ESPARR; Rhône Area Road Crash Victim Follow-up Study) cohort: 178 victims (with Maximal Abbreviated Injury Scale ≥ 3) of road crashes in the Rhône administrative department of France, aged ≥ 16 years and with medical examination including FIM scoring 1 year postaccident. Two thresholds were tested for both scores. Firstly, the relation between FIM and M-IIS was assessed on logistic regression models adjusted on age and presence of complications at 1 year postaccident. The predictive capacity of M-IIS was expressed as its negative and positive predictive values and was considered good when 80 percent or better.

RESULTS

Sixty-three of the 178 adult subjects (mean age = 37.7 years; range = 16.1-82.9 years) showed postaccident complications. One-year sequelae prediction on M-IIS was greater in head, spine, and limb lesions but limited to slight impairments (M-IIS = 1). There was a significant correlation between FIM and M-IIS, although age and medical complications were confounding factors on certain multivariate models. The predictive capacity of M-IIS was low for all types of sequelae.

CONCLUSIONS

M-IIS, in this severely injured population, failed to predict sequelae at 1 year as measured by the FIM, despite a good correlation between the two. Complications are to be taken into account in assessing the M-IIS's capacity to predict sequelae. Further evaluation will be needed on larger series or assessment of other indicators and measures of sequelae at 1 year to obtain a robust tool to predict road crash sequelae.