Injury
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The precise role of thoracic CT in penetrating chest trauma remains to be defined. We hypothesized that thoracic CT effectively screens hemodynamically normal patients with penetrating thoracic trauma to surgery vs. expectant management (NOM). ⋯ Thoracic CT has a negative predictive value of 99% in triaging hemodynamically normal patients with penetrating chest trauma. Screening thoracic CT successfully excludes surgery in patients with non-significant radiologic findings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomized, controlled trial of povidone-iodine to reduce simple traumatic wound infections in the emergency department.
Povidone Iodine (PVI) has been used to prevent wound infection for a long time, yet the merits and effectiveness of this agent in reducing the rates of infection in simple traumatic wounds have been debated. The aim of this study is determine the effect of PVI as skin disinfectant in preventing simple traumatic wound infection after repair in emergency departments. ⋯ Our study showed that using PVI in the management of traumatic wounds did not reduced rate of infections.
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Review Case Reports
Large fracture of the anteromedial tibial plateau with isolated posterolateral knee corner injury: case series of an often missed unusual injury pattern.
Tibial plateau fractures are a heterogeneous group of lesions with multiple fracture patterns. They are often associated with soft tissue injuries, the lateral meniscus and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) being the most common structures affected. ⋯ The importance of a high index of suspicion and a proper early diagnosis with an MRI is of paramount importance. We also describe the current surgical management used by the authors and review of the current literature.
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Trauma centers are seeing an increasing number of geriatric patients that are more susceptible to injuries even from relatively minor insults such as a ground level fall (GLF). As life expectancy increases, people are living in the geriatric age bracket for decades and often use anticoagulation agents for various comorbidities. We hypothesize that this patient population is not homogenous and we investigated the injury patterns and outcomes after GLF as a function of age and anticoagulation use. We also sought to identify injury patterns and patient characteristics of GLF patients. ⋯ Epidemiological/prognostic study level IV.
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Case Reports
Novel use of a Sengstaken-Blakemore tube during a neck exploration of a carotid injury: A case report.
Penetrating neck trauma can injure the major blood vessels, airway, gastrointestinal system, and neurological system. We present a case where a Sengstaken-Blakemore tube was emergently placed during surgical exploration of a stab wound to the neck to tamponade bleeding until surgical control was obtained and the vascular injuries were managed.