World journal of surgery
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World journal of surgery · Jan 2001
Determining which patients require evaluation for blunt cardiac injury following blunt chest trauma.
The objective of this study was to determine prospectively which risk factors require cardiac monitoring for blunt cardiac injury (BCI) following blunt chest trauma. All patients who sustained blunt chest trauma had an electrocardiogram (ECG) on admission to our urban level I trauma center. Those with ST segment changes, dysrhythmias, hemodynamic instability, history of cardiac disease, age > 55 years, or a need for general anesthesia within 24 hours (group 1) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for 24 hours where they were subjected to serial ECGs, creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) assays, and echocardiography (ECHO). ⋯ Patients who sustain blunt chest trauma with a normal ECG, normal blood pressure, and no dysrhythmias on admission require no further intervention for BCI. Patients with ST segment changes, dysrhythmias, or hypotension following blunt chest trauma should be monitored for 24 hours, as this subgroup occasionally requires further treatment for complications of BCI. ECHO adds nothing as a screening test.
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World journal of surgery · Jan 2001
Indicators of fatigue and of prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation in surgical patients.
Indicators of weaning success have been tested primarily in patients who have been ventilated for short periods of time, and they may not be as accurate in cases where support has been required for longer than a few days. In patients requiring longer periods of support it is difficult to estimate the likelihood of successful liberation. Therefore we evaluated established weaning indices for their accuracy in surgical patients who required > or = 72 hours of mechanical ventilation. ⋯ By multivariate analysis, an RSBI of > 105 on the first day of weaning predicted prolonged weaning (hazard ratio 1.9; p = 0.03). After 72 hours of mechanical ventilation, clinical fatigue and successful liberation are not reliably predicted by standard indices of respiratory muscle strength and reserve. However, an RSBI of >105 observed once the patient is ready to wean is associated with prolonged weaning.