Injury
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To describe the characteristics of canyoning rescue operations (CRO), type and severity of injuries or illnesses, and on-site medical procedures. ⋯ The length and exposure to environmental factors validates the importance of emergency physicians and paramedics in CRO. Physicians and paramedics should be familiar with Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support, medical procedures related to environmental, topographical and logistical conditions, and helicopter rescue operations including winch operations.
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A number of studies have investigated the effect of presentation time on the outcome of patients presenting following trauma. However, it is uncertain whether there is a difference in the incidence of missed injuries between patients presenting during 'office hours' to those presenting in the 'after-hours' period. ⋯ Injuries in patients sustaining trauma are more likely to be missed 'after-hours' than during 'office hours'. T-spine and abdominal injuries are more likely to be missed when compared to other anatomical regions of the body.
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Impact of comorbidity on risk of readmission and death after hip fracture surgery has not been sufficiently explored. We planned to investigate the role of common diseases in predicting adverse events during recovery after hip surgery. ⋯ Common comorbidities are associated with higher risk of rehospitalisation and mortality following hip fracture surgery in the elderly. This information may be useful in postoperative risk assessment and prevention of negative outcomes.
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There is a requirement in the Ministry of Defence for an objective method of comparing the area of coverage of different body armour designs for future applications. Existing comparisons derived from surface wound mapping are limited in that they can only demonstrate the skin entry wound location. The Coverage of Armour Tool (COAT) is a novel three-dimensional model capable of comparing the coverage provided by body armour designs, but limited information exists as to which anatomical structures require inclusion. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of COAT, in the assessment of neck protection, using clinically relevant injury data. ⋯ COAT demonstrated its ability to objectively quantify the potential effectiveness of different body armour designs in providing coverage of vulnerable anatomical structures from different shot line orientations. To improve its utility, it is recommended that COAT be further developed to enable weapon and tissue specific information to be modelled, and that clinically significant injuries to other body regions are also incorporated.
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The literature lacks recent population-based epidemiology studies of the incidence, trauma mechanism and fracture classification of tibial shaft fractures. The purpose of this study was to provide up-to-date information on the incidence of tibial shaft fractures in a large and complete population and report the distribution of fracture classification, trauma mechanism and patient baseline demographics. ⋯ This study shows an incidence of 16.9/100,000/year for tibial shaft fractures. AO-type 42-A1 was the most common fracture type, representing 34% of all tibial shaft fractures.