Annals of emergency medicine
-
This study examines whether serum levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein breakdown products (GFAP-BDP) are elevated in patients with mild and moderate traumatic brain injury compared with controls and whether they are associated with traumatic intracranial lesions on computed tomography (CT) scan (positive CT result) and with having a neurosurgical intervention. ⋯ GFAP-BDP is detectable in serum within an hour of injury and is associated with measures of injury severity, including the GCS score, CT lesions, and neurosurgical intervention. Further study is required to validate these findings before clinical application.
-
Patients receiving warfarin who experience minor head injury are at risk of intracranial hemorrhage, and optimal management after a single head computed tomography (CT) scan is unclear. We evaluate a protocol of 24-hour observation followed by a second head CT scan. ⋯ For patients receiving warfarin who experience minor head injury and have a negative initial head CT scan result, a protocol of 24-hour observation followed by a second CT scan will identify most occurrences of delayed bleeding. An initial international normalized ratio greater than 3 suggests higher risk.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Morphine and ketamine is superior to morphine alone for out-of-hospital trauma analgesia: a randomized controlled trial.
We assess the efficacy of intravenous ketamine compared with intravenous morphine in reducing pain in adults with significant out-of-hospital traumatic pain. ⋯ Intravenous morphine plus ketamine for out-of-hospital adult trauma patients provides analgesia superior to that of intravenous morphine alone but was associated with an increase in the rate of minor adverse effects.
-
Comparative Study
Hydroxocobalamin versus sodium thiosulfate for the treatment of acute cyanide toxicity in a swine (Sus scrofa) model.
We compare the efficacy of hydroxocobalamin to sodium thiosulfate to reverse the depressive effects on mean arterial pressure in a swine model of acute cyanide toxicity and gain a better understanding of the mechanism of action of the hydroxocobalamin in reversal of the toxicity. ⋯ Sodium thiosulfate failed to reverse cyanide-induced shock in our swine model of severe cyanide toxicity. Further, sodium thiosulfate was not found to be effective when added to hydroxocobalamin in the treatment of cyanide-induced shock. Hydroxocobalamin alone was again found to be effective for severe cyanide toxicity.
-
We describe 3 patients admitted to the medical-surgical ICU in a university hospital with life-threatening cardiogenic shock after the ingestion of high doses of calcium channel blockers (8.4 g sustained-release diltiazem, 4.2 g sustained-release diltiazem, and 14.4 g slow-release verapamil). Cardiovascular failure and cardiac conduction disturbances were unresponsive to the usual therapy (eg, intravenous injection of high doses of calcium, glucagon, hyperinsulinemia-euglycemia therapy, fluid resuscitation) and to increasing doses of simultaneous infusions of adrenergic agonists. ⋯ At 2-year follow-up, patients were asymptomatic. Albumin dialysis with MARS therapy may be effective when used as a rescue procedure in patients presenting with sustained, life-threatening cardiogenic shock as a result of massive calcium channel blocker poisoning.