European journal of pediatric surgery : official journal of Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgery ... [et al] = Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie
-
Comparative Study
Initial evaluation of children sustaining blunt abdominal trauma: ultrasonography vs. diagnostic peritoneal lavage.
A prospective clinical study was performed to compare ultrasonography (US) with a modality having 96-99% accuracy like diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) to find the accuracy of US in the initial evaluation of children sustaining blunt abdominal trauma (BAT). Sixty-eight children with BAT were initially evaluated by US, then DPL. All patients with pathologic US findings underwent computerized tomographic examination before DPL to confirm the pathologies. ⋯ The present study has shown that US can detect FIF with a high rate of accuracy comparable to DPL in children. In addition, US has advantages over DPL in the detection of intraperitoneal organ injuries with or without concomitant FIF, retroperitoneal injuries and intrathoracic injuries. Thus US is thought to be superior to DPL and recommended as a routine first choice screening tool in the initial evaluation of children sustaining BAT.
-
Comparative Study
A biomechanical study of bicycle helmets' effectiveness in childhood.
The authors present the results of a series of impact tests on pedal cycle helmets. 10 helmets were tested using a drop test under three different test conditions: Left frontal/temporal from 1 m, right frontal/temporal from 1.5 m and left occipital from 1 m. Impact force and the acceleration of the headform's centre of gravity in three axes were measured. As a result of the authors' field research on pedal cycle helmets in Australia the 1.5 m drop height was considered to be more representative of a "real" accident than the less severe 1 m height fall. ⋯ In comparison a fall without helmet from 0.5 m produced a maximal resultant acceleration of 282 g. Head injury criteria values were for 1 m drops between 201 and 630; from 1.5 m 547 to 1078; and without helmet from 0.5 m 906. The individual helmets are compared on these figures and their merits discussed.