Pediatric trauma centers often do not meet the guidelines requiring a trauma team as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). We reviewed our experience with a team consisting of a pediatric emergency physician, resident, nurse, and respiratory therapist. The surgical and pediatric critical care residents and staff were available within 5 minutes. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 146 patients (aged 8.1 +/- 4.8 years) between 1987 and 1989, with Injury Severity Scores (ISS) greater than or equal to 16 or admitted to the pediatric critical care unit. The time of presentation, surgical services consulted, and the nature of the injury were obtained from chart review. The Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) were used to determine the severity of insult and physiologic derangement on admission. The Modified Injury Severity Score (MISS) was determined and the Delta score for Disability Assessment was assigned at discharge. The Delta score was also determined at 3-month intervals up to one year. The probability of survival (Ps) was calculated, using the ISS and RTS. The Z statistic for this group of patients was then determined, using the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) methodology. The percentages of patients who were normal, disabled, and dead were 61%, 31.5%, and 7.5%, respectively, at 6 months follow-up. Eleven deaths were expected based on PRISM and TRISS analysis. Our mortality and morbidity figures were comparable with those of centers with teams based on AAP guidelines.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)