Professional
Technical
IVT
Injury Severity Score
Also written as: ISS — Injury Severity Score
Standardized scoring system that assigns numerical values to anatomical injuries for trauma assessment.
Full Definition
A widely used anatomical scoring system that provides an overall score for patients with multiple injuries. The ISS is calculated by summing the squares of the highest Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores in three most severely injured body regions. Scores range from 1 to 75, with an ISS of 16 or greater generally defining major trauma. This scoring system is essential for trauma research, quality improvement, and predicting patient outcomes.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalize when writing the full term; ISS is acceptable as abbreviation after first use.
In Context
- "The patient's ISS of 25 indicated severe polytrauma requiring multidisciplinary care." — Trauma registry documentation
- "Mortality rates correlate strongly with Injury Severity Score in blunt trauma patients." — Research manuscript
Also known as
ISS
Don't confuse with
Abbreviated Injury Scale
Revised Trauma Score