CAISS Abdominal Injuries 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the AIS, a liver laceration with minor blood loss and no vascular involvement is typically coded at which severity level?
- AIS 1
- AIS 2 (Correct answer)
- AIS 3
- AIS 4
Correct answer: AIS 2
Minor liver lacerations with minimal blood loss and no major vascular involvement are coded AIS 2 in the abdominal region.
Question 2: Which organ is most commonly injured in blunt abdominal trauma and contributes most frequently to AIS abdominal coding?
- Kidney
- Spleen
- Liver (Correct answer)
- Pancreas
Correct answer: Liver
The liver is the most commonly injured solid organ in blunt abdominal trauma and is frequently the basis for AIS abdominal severity coding.
Question 3: A patient has a complete transection of the superior mesenteric artery. What AIS severity score is most appropriate?
- AIS 2
- AIS 3
- AIS 4
- AIS 5 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: AIS 5
Complete transection of a named mesenteric vessel such as the superior mesenteric artery carries an AIS 5 score due to life-threatening hemorrhage risk.
Question 4: In AIS coding, which descriptor best differentiates a Grade II from a Grade III splenic laceration?
- Presence of subcapsular hematoma
- Depth exceeding 3 cm or involvement of trabecular vessels (Correct answer)
- Extension to the splenic hilum
- Associated pneumothorax
Correct answer: Depth exceeding 3 cm or involvement of trabecular vessels
A Grade III splenic laceration is defined by depth greater than 3 cm or involvement of trabecular vessels, distinguishing it from the shallower Grade II injury.
Question 5: When coding multiple abdominal injuries under AIS, which approach is used to determine the region's overall severity?
- Sum all individual AIS scores
- Use the highest single AIS score for the region (Correct answer)
- Average the scores of all abdominal injuries
- Add 1 to the highest score if more than two organs are injured
Correct answer: Use the highest single AIS score for the region
AIS uses the single highest injury severity score within a body region to represent that region's severity, not a sum or average.
Question 6: A bowel perforation with fecal contamination of the peritoneal cavity is best coded at which AIS level?
- AIS 2
- AIS 3
- AIS 4 (Correct answer)
- AIS 5
Correct answer: AIS 4
Bowel perforation with peritoneal fecal contamination is coded AIS 4, reflecting significant risk of sepsis and morbidity.
Question 7: Which anatomical structure, when lacerated with associated ductal injury, elevates pancreatic trauma to AIS 4?
- Pancreatic tail parenchyma only
- Main pancreatic duct (duct of Wirsung) (Correct answer)
- Accessory pancreatic duct (duct of Santorini)
- Peripancreatic fat
Correct answer: Main pancreatic duct (duct of Wirsung)
Laceration involving the main pancreatic duct (duct of Wirsung) elevates pancreatic trauma to AIS 4 due to the risk of pancreatic fistula and severe morbidity.
CAISS Abdominal Injuries 2
In the AIS, a liver laceration with minor blood loss and no vascular involvement is typically coded at which severity level?