An analysis of risk factors for death at the scene following traumatic aortic rupture.

The hospital or medical examiner records of 75 victims of traumatic aortic rupture (TAR) were reviewed retrospectively. Among the 75 victims, 51 (68%) died at the scene. Those dead at the scene had higher Injury Severity Scores, 59.3 +/- 13.8, than those who survived to be hospitalized, 42.6 +/- 13.3 (p less than 0.001). The mean age of victims dead at the scene was not different than the mean age of those who arrived alive at the hospital. The incidence of death at the scene was significantly higher for patients with head injuries (p less than 0.01), victims with a second intrathoracic injury (p less than 0.025), and patients with associated intra-abdominal injury (p less than 0.001) compared to those without these injuries. A second fatal injury occurred in 51 (41.2%) of victims who died at the scene.