Distribution of Chest Trauma Severity Using Thorax Trauma Severity Score Among Patients in a Tertiary Care Institute of North East India

Abstract

Background: Chest trauma is a major contributor to traumarelated morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for nearly onequarter of trauma deaths. The Thorax Trauma Severity Score (TTSS) has been validated as a prognostic tool, but regional data from NorthEast India remain limited.
Objective: To estimate the proportion of different grades of chest trauma using TTSS among patients attending a tertiary-care teaching hospital in NorthEast India.
Methods: This observational crosssectional study included 210 patients with isolated chest trauma admitted between June 2024 and November 2025. Patients were categorised into five TTSS groups (I–V) based on cumulative scores ranging from 0 to 25. Demographic data, mechanism of injury, laterality, and hospitalisation status were analysed.
Results: A total of 210 patients were included, of whom 180 (85.7%) were male, and 30 (14.3%) were female, yielding a maletofemale ratio of 6:1. The mean age was 42.1 ± 15.8 years, with the largest subgroup in the 41–50year range (23.3%). More than half of the patients (54.8%) were from urban areas, while 45.2% resided in rural regions; 84.8% lived in plains and 15.2% in hilly terrain. Road traffic accidents were the predominant mechanism of injury (76.7%), followed by falls (11.9%) and assaults (8.6%). Rightsided chest trauma was most frequent (56.7%), with leftsided injuries in 24.8% and bilateral involvement in 18.6%. Distribution across TTSS categories showed that most patients belonged to Groups I and II (scores 0–10), while fewer cases were observed in higher severity groups (III–V).
Conclusion: TTSS effectively stratified patients into severity categories, with higher scores associated with greater need for hospitalisation. The findings validate TTSS as a reliable tool for stratifying chest trauma severity in NorthEast India.