Injury
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Missed injury in the context of major trauma remains a persistent problem, both from a clinical and medico-legal point-of-view. Estimates of the incidence vary widely, dependent on the precise parameters of the studied population, the definition of missed injury and the extent of follow-up, but may be as high as 38%. The tertiary survey, in which formal repeated examination of the patient is undertaken after initial resuscitation and treatment have taken place, has been suggested as a way of identifying injuries not found at presentation. This paper appraises the concept of the tertiary survey, and also reviews the literature on missed injury in order to identify the risk factors, the types of injury and the reasons for error.
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This review examines pleural decompression and drainage during initial hospital adult trauma reception and resuscitation, when it is indicated for haemodynamically unstable patients with signs of pneumothorax or haemothorax. The relevant historical background, techniques, complications and current controversies are highlighted. Key findings of this review are that: 1. ⋯ Drainage and insertion of a chest tube is a secondary priority. 3. Techniques to prevent tube thoracostomy (TT) complications include aseptic technique, avoidance of trocars, digital exploration of the insertion site and guidance of the tube posteriorly and superiorly during insertion. 4. Whenever possible, blunt thoracic trauma patients should undergo definitive CT imaging after TT to check for appropriate tube position.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Gender differences in outcome in patients with hypotension and severe traumatic brain injury.
Animal studies have identified hormonal influences on responses to injury and recovery, creating a potential gender effect on outcome. Progesterone and oestrogen are thought to afford protection in the immediate post-injury period, suggesting females have an advantage, although there has been limited evidence of this in human outcome studies. ⋯ The study provides no evidence that females fare better than males following severe TBI, suggesting rather that females may fare worse.
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Limited research has been performed to compare the predictive abilities of the injury severity score (ISS) and the new ISS (NISS) in the developing world. ⋯ The scoring of trauma severity may need to be individualised to different countries and trauma systems.
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It is important to avoid or minimise allogeneic blood transfusion, because of possible alloimmunisation or disease transmission. In burn cases these risks are high, and predonated autologous transfusion is not practical. Perioperative haemodilutional autologous blood transfusion is considered applicable in burn surgery. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the technique in the treatment of burns.