The abbreviated injury scale (AIS) was developed to provide researchers with a simple numerical method for ranking and comparing injuries by severity, and to standardize the terminology used to describe injuries. Since 1971, the need for greater sophistication of these goals has resulted in several revisions of the AIS. Thoughout these revisions, the scope of injuries has been broadened, not only to include an expanded list of injury descriptors, but also to include injuries other than those that occur in a vehicular environment. The most current revisions are now also useful to medical researchers involved in clinical circumstances. This edition, AIS 90, represents another major update of the of the system. Specific improvements in the areas of: coding guidelines; penetrating injuries; pediatric injuries; expanded injury list; numerical injury identifier; external injuries; brain injuries; and modifications to terminology are given.
Abstract