How it's calculated
Six components — weight, airway, systolic blood pressure, CNS/consciousness, open wounds, and skeletal injury — are each scored -1, +1, or +2 based on severity, then summed for a total ranging from -6 (most severe) to +12 (minor injury).
Score interpretation
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 9–12 | Minor injury pattern |
| 0–8 | Significant injury — trauma centre referral indicated |
| < 0 | Very high mortality risk — immediate trauma centre transfer |
Clinical use
- Designed as a field/triage tool to help decide whether an injured child needs transfer to a designated paediatric trauma centre rather than a general facility.
- A score of 8 or less is the commonly used threshold associated with a sharp increase in mortality and morbidity risk.
- Complements the adult Revised Trauma Score — children's physiological compensation differs from adults (e.g. maintaining blood pressure until late in shock), which is part of why a paediatric-specific score exists.
- Should be repeated/reassessed as the child's condition evolves, not treated as a single static number.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Pediatric Trauma Score used for?
It's a triage tool that estimates paediatric trauma severity across six components, helping decide whether a child should be transferred to a designated trauma centre.
What PTS score indicates a need for trauma centre transfer?
A total score of 8 or less is generally used as the threshold, since it's associated with a significant rise in mortality risk. Scores below 0 indicate very high mortality risk.
Why is there a separate trauma score for children?
Children can maintain a normal blood pressure well into shock due to strong physiological compensation, meaning adult-style vital-sign-based scoring can under-recognise severity — paediatric-specific criteria (including weight-based physiology) better capture this.
References
- Tepas JJ, et al. The pediatric trauma score as a predictor of injury severity in the injured child. J Pediatr Surg. 1987;22(1):14-18.