External Validation of the Surgical Intervention for Traumatic Injuries Scale in Children.

Objectives: The Surgical Intervention for Traumatic Injuries (SITI) scale is intended to predict the likelihood of needing surgical decompression among patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). We sought to examine the performance of the SITI score to predict likelihood of acute neurosurgical intervention for children with TBI.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective, observational study of children diagnosed with TBI as determined by International Classification of Diseases codes, presenting to a single level 1 pediatric trauma center, between June 1, 2003, and May 31, 2018. The main outcome was decompressive craniotomy or craniectomy within 24 hours of arrival. Data for SITI scoring were abstracted by research assistants, and all cases were scored by a physician who was blinded to the outcome. The SITI scale performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve and by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV).

Results: There were 656 encounters with TBI, of which 39 (5.9%) underwent surgical decompression. The mean SITI scores were 4.15 for the operative group and 0.40 for the nonoperative group (P < 0.001). A cutoff of 2 or greater for a positive score gave the best performance with a sensitivity of 0.79, specificity of 0.90, PPV of 0.34, and NPV of 0.99. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.89 (95% confidence interval, 0.83-0.96). In sensitivity analysis excluding 75 cases with depressed skull fractures, a score of 2 or greater had a sensitivity of 0.96, specificity of 0.91, PPV of 0.31, and NPV of 1.00. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.00).

Conclusions: A SITI score of less than 2 is associated with nonoperative management. However, clinicians should not be falsely reassured by a low score in patients with depressed skull fractures.