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Tscherne classification

Soft tissue injury classification system

The Tscherne classification is a system of categorization of soft tissue injuries.

01Classification

Tscherne Grade Open soft tissue injuries Closed fractures
0 Fr. C 0 - No or minor soft-tissue injury from a simple fracture due to indirect trauma
I Fr. O 1 - Skin lacerated by bone fragment. No or minimal contusion to the skin Fr. C 1 - Superficial contusion or abrasion to the skin
II Fr. O 2 - Skin laceration with circumferential skin or soft-tissue contusion and moderate contamination Fr. C 2 - Deep contaminated abrasions with skin or muscle contusion from direct trauma
III Fr. O 3 - Extensive soft-tissue damage with major vessel or nerve injury Fr. C 3 - Extensive skin contusion with destruction of subcutaneous tissue avulsion or muscle destruction
IV Fr. O 4 - Subtotal and total amputations with separation of all important anatomical structures

02Reliability

The intraobserver (observations at two different times by the same person) agreement for Tscherne classification is 85%; while for inter-observer agreement is 65%.

03History

This classification system was developed by Harald Tscherne and Hans-Jörg Oestern in 1982 at the Hannover Medical School (Hanover, Germany) to classify both open and closed fractures. This classification system is based on the physiological concept that the higher the kinetic energy imparted on the bone, the higher the kinetic energy imparted on the soft tissue. It also serves as a tool to guide management and to predict clinical outcomes. It also serves as a communication tool in research and in clinical presentations.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Tscherne classification, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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