Injury
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Occupational injuries impose a substantial global burden, affecting millions of workers annually, which demands urgent attention to enhance workplace safety and health standards. We aimed to outline the frequency, patterns of injury, and clinical characteristics of patients injured by high-rotation cutting tools (grinders) and to pinpoint the neurovascular (nerves and blood vessels) injuries. ⋯ Individuals affected by power-tool accidents were predominantly young males, mainly general laborers, with a significant proportion being expatriates. The trend of grinder-related injuries increases over time, with portable grinders being a primary source of injuries due to direct contact with the blade. The anatomical injuries mainly include fractures of the upper and lower extremities. Further studies are warranted to understand the cultural aspects and training requirements of workers handling power tools, aiming to achieve sustainable injury prevention effectively.
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Vascular injuries are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The management is exceedingly demanding and requires involvement of senior clinician. There are known complications associated with vascular injury ranging from limb loss, stroke, and death. There are limited studies examining other injuries that are associated with vascular trauma. This study aimed to review the pattern, management and outcomes of the other injuries associated with vascular injuries. ⋯ Out of 2805 patients that were admitted in trauma ICU from 2013 to 2022, 153 (5 %) patients had vascular injuries. There were 154 documented vascular injuries and 212 associated injuries. This study found that fractures are the most common injuries to be associated with vascular injury CONCLUSION: The nature of vascular injury and delay to intervention determines outcome of patients, however associated injuries also play an important role in affecting outcomes. The presence of associated injury encourages the multi-disciplinary approach to optimise outcomes.
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The occurrence and sequelae of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in major trauma patients is underexplored across both trauma and cardiology specialties. Coronary reperfusion greatly reduces the risk of significant morbidity and mortality in AMI. However, in patients presenting with significant injuries, concurrent AMI presents a competing management priority given the increase in risk of bleeding with standard anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy, which may be contraindicated. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical outcomes associated with AMI in a contemporary major trauma cohort. ⋯ AMI in the setting of major trauma occurs in an older, more comorbid, and vulnerable group of patients. AMI is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality and prolonged hospital stay in the setting of major trauma, underscoring the importance of identifying and treating major trauma associated AMI in a timely and effective manner.
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Despite research linking chemical and physical restraints to negative outcomes including unplanned intubations and psychological distress, there is little guidance for their use in the care of trauma patients. We used institutional data to describe recent trends in chemical and physical restraint in the emergency department evaluation and treatment of trauma patients and to identify characteristics associated with their use. ⋯ In this institutional study, nearly one-in-twelve trauma patients were restrained during emergency department evaluation and treatment. Restraint utilization increased during the study driven primarily by increases in ketamine and restraints utilized during trauma bay evaluation and resuscitation. Future research should assess the generalizability of these findings. It is important that rigorous guidelines are established to ensure the safe and effective use of restraints in trauma.
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The Pain, Inspiratory effort, Cough score (PIC) has been developed and widely adopted to guide clinical prognostication for patients with chest wall injury. To date, the efficacy, accuracy, and safety of a PIC based triage system has not been validated. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the use of a modified-PIC score to triage and down-grade trauma patients with chest wall injury at a single institution. ⋯ This is the largest study, to date, evaluating the impact of a modified-PIC triage system on clinical outcomes. The results suggest a modified-PIC triage system may lead to decreased ICU days, ARDS rates, and rates of cardiac arrest w/ ROSC, potentially improving hospital resource allocation. Further prospective and multi-center studies are needed to validate our understanding on the impact of a chest wall scoring system on triage and outcomes.