CAISS Injury Classification & Scoring 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When coding a patient with both a liver laceration and a splenic laceration, a CAISS specialist should assign each injury:
- A single combined AIS code for abdominal trauma
- Individual AIS codes with the higher severity used for ISS
- Individual AIS codes; the ISS uses the maximum from the Abdomen region (Correct answer)
- Separate AIS codes summed together before squaring for ISS
Correct answer: Individual AIS codes; the ISS uses the maximum from the Abdomen region
Both injuries receive separate AIS codes, but for the ISS only the single highest AIS score from the Abdomen region is used.
Question 2: The AIS Spine region is classified as a separate body region from which of the following?
- Head only
- Head and Thorax only
- Head, Neck, Thorax, and Abdomen (Correct answer)
- Neck only
Correct answer: Head, Neck, Thorax, and Abdomen
The AIS Spine region is distinct from the Head, Neck, Thorax, and Abdomen regions, though the spinal column runs through all of them.
Question 3: A closed head injury with brief loss of consciousness and no structural intracranial findings would most likely be assigned which AIS severity?
- AIS 1
- AIS 2 (Correct answer)
- AIS 3
- AIS 4
Correct answer: AIS 2
Concussion or mild TBI with brief LOC and no structural injury typically maps to AIS 2 (Moderate) in the Head region.
Question 4: Which of the following fractures would typically be classified in the AIS External body region rather than in a limb region?
- Femur shaft fracture
- Degloving injury of the forearm (Correct answer)
- Rib fractures
- Tibial plateau fracture
Correct answer: Degloving injury of the forearm
Degloving and similar skin/soft-tissue injuries are coded in the AIS External region regardless of where on the body they occur.
Question 5: What is the ISS for a patient with MAIS 3 head injury, AIS 2 facial lacerations, and AIS 3 thorax injury — assuming no other injuries?
- 18 (Correct answer)
- 22
- 13
- 26
Correct answer: 18
ISS = 3² (Head) + 3² (Thorax) + 2² (Face) = 9 + 9 + 4 = 22; however, Face is a separate AIS region, giving 9+9+4 = 22.
Question 6: A tension pneumothorax resulting in hemodynamic compromise would typically receive which AIS severity in the Thorax region?
- AIS 2
- AIS 3
- AIS 4
- AIS 5 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: AIS 5
Tension pneumothorax causing hemodynamic instability is classified as AIS 5 (Critical) due to its immediately life-threatening nature.
Question 7: In AIS coding, which of the following is TRUE about injuries classified as AIS 1?
- They are excluded from ISS calculation
- They still contribute to NISS if among the top three scores (Correct answer)
- They are coded only when no other injuries exist
- They represent injuries incompatible with independent survival
Correct answer: They still contribute to NISS if among the top three scores
AIS 1 injuries can contribute to NISS if they happen to rank among the patient's three highest AIS scores, though this is uncommon in multiply-injured patients.
CAISS Injury Classification & Scoring 4
When coding a patient with both a liver laceration and a splenic laceration, a CAISS specialist should assign each injury: