Injury
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use of the Patient-Reported Outcomes measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is slowly increasing in patients with a fracture. Yet, minimal important change of PROMIS in patients with fractures has been addressed in a very limited number of studies. As the minimal important change (MIC) is important to interpret PROMIS-scores, the goal is to estimate the MIC for PROMIS physical function (PF), PROMIS pain interference (PI) and PROMIS ability to participate in social roles and activities (APSRA) in patients with a fracture. Secondly, the smallest detectable change was determined. ⋯ By using the anchor based predictive modeling method, PROMIS MIC-values for improvement of respectively +2.4 points on a T-score metric for PROMIS-PF, -2.9 for PROMIS-PI and +3.2 for PROMIS APSRA give the impression of being meaningful to patients. These values can be used in clinical practice for managing patient expectations; to inform on treatment results; and to assess if patients experience significant change. This in order to encourage patient centered care.
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Suicide claims many lives globally, each year. For every person that dies by suicide, multitudes more attempt it. A national shortage of psychiatrists may prevent many individuals from receiving timely mental health care. For many individuals, the primary entry point into the healthcare system is through the emergency department. The trauma service frequently treats patients with severe self-inflicted injuries and for many this is not the first time. This represents an opportunity for intervention to disrupt the cycle and prevent future death. ⋯ We need interdisciplinary and innovative solutions for this public health crisis. Perhaps telemedicine can be used to buttress the access to adequate mental health care. More research needs to be done to better identify the barriers individuals encounter in accessing mental health care, both pre- and post-crisis. The goal is that, by identifying the gaps, we can collaboratively bridge them to prevent a preventable death.
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Pediatric proximal tibial fractures (PTF) are rare but potentially debilitating. So far, no system for guiding surgical treatment based on injury-force mechanism has been documented, while adult tibial plateau fractures have benefited greatly from such an approach. This study reviews the diagnosis and treatment experience at a tertiary trauma center and introduces the reduction-traction method. ⋯ Pediatric PTF has a bimodal distribution with high risk before three years and after 15 years. The injury-force classification can supplement the Salter-Harris classification in guiding surgical treatment. The "reduction-traction" approach in children differs from adults, and results in good outcomes.
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The National Health Service in England has successfully used learning from its National Hip Fracture Database to drive improvements in care of the most frail orthopaedic trauma patients. While this could simply be viewed as achieving its primary function, the learning with regard to meaningful change that resulted has been applied across the other aspects of trauma to achieve improvements including multiply injured patients within trauma systems (Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN)) and community level trauma. ⋯ It explains the UK system and the navigation of this to gain political and administrative traction in the creation of a national network and how this momentum was used to achieve a complete overhaul of the trauma system. There are lessons that are applicable across all healthcare systems.
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The new EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) was introduced in 2017 to increase the safety and quality of medical devices in the European Union. Theoretically, several hundred thousand medical devices must be approved under the new MDR guidelines, although the majority of these products have been and will be in daily use in countless operations on the European market for decades. The expected expenditure of time and money until the MDR is fully implemented is associated with high costs, patient disadvantages but also manufacturer problems. The following briefly summarizes the current situation in many European countries and presents the consequences for patients and hospitals and in this context also emphasizes the interdependence between hospitals, patients and manufacturers.