Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Aug 2007
ReviewDiagnostic dilemmas and current controversies in blunt chest trauma.
Blunt chest injuries are common encounters in the emergency department. Instead of a comprehensive review of the management of all chest injuries, this review focuses on injuries that can be difficult to diagnose and manage, including blunt aortic injury, cardiac contusion, and blunt diaphragmatic injury. This review also discusses some recent controversies in the literature regarding the use of prophylactic antibiotics for tube thoracostomy and the optimal management of occult pneumothorax. The article concludes with a discussion of the management of rib fractures in the elderly.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Aug 2007
Optimal trauma outcome: trauma system design and the trauma team.
Trauma is the number one killer of Americans under age 34; optimal trauma care is provided when there is a well-functioning, comprehensive system. This article reviews the development of trauma centers in the United States, recommending that the number of trauma centers be optimized so that resources and expense be kept to a minimum. The role of specialists in the care of trauma patients has evolved over the past few decades. Efforts and protocols for trauma care should be based on objective quality outcome data, with the goal of making the most efficient use of resources for the best possible outcomes.