The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Oct 2010
Serum ethanol levels in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury influence outcomes: a surprising finding.
Animal studies routinely demonstrate an alcohol (ETOH) -mediated increase in survival after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent clinical studies also suggest ETOH plays a neuroprotective role in moderate to severe TBI. We sought to investigate the relationship between ETOH and outcomes in patients with moderate to severe TBI using a countywide database. ⋯ Even after logistic regression analysis, a positive ETOH was associated with reduced mortality (adjusted OR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.99, P = 0.035). Therefore, a positive serum ETOH level was independently associated with significantly improved survival in patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI. The neuroprotective role ETOH plays in TBI is in contrast to previous findings and deserves further attention as a potential therapeutic.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2010
Does health care insurance affect outcomes after traumatic brain injury? Analysis of the National Trauma Databank.
Increasing evidence indicates insurance status plays a role in the outcome of trauma patients; however its role on outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains unclear. A retrospective review was queried within the National Trauma Data Bank. Moderate to severe TBI insured patients were compared with their uninsured counterparts with respect to demographics, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and outcome. ⋯ However, when controlling for confounding variables, the presence of insurance had a significant protective effect on mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval: 0.82-0.97, P = 0.007). This effect was most noticeable in patients with head abbreviated injury score = 5 (adjusted odds ratio 0.7; 95% confidence interval: 0.6-0.8, P < 0.0001), indicating insured severe TBI patients have improved outcomes compared with their uninsured counterparts. There is no clear explanation for this finding however the role of insurance in outcomes after trauma remains a topic for further investigation.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2010
Is postoperative chronic pain syndrome higher with mesh repair of inguinal hernia?
Chronic postoperative pain has been associated with mesh repair in meta-analysis of clinical trials. We compared the incidence of early complications, recurrence, and chronic pain syndrome in anatomic and mesh repairs in 200 patients. ⋯ The clinical outcomes did not reveal a significant disparity between the 100 consecutive patients who had mesh repair versus the 100 patients who had anatomic repair with regard to the incidence of superficial wound infection (0 vs. 2%, P = 0.497), testicular swelling (12 vs. 7%, P = 0.335), hematoma (1 vs. 0%, P = 0.99), recurrence (3 vs. 2%, P = 0.99), or chronic postoperative pain (4 vs. 1%, P = 0.369). The anatomic procedure without mesh should continue to be offered to patients who have an initial inguinal hernia repair.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2010
A multidisciplinary organ donor council and performance improvement initiative can improve donation outcomes.
The shortage of organs available for transplantation has become a national crisis. The Department of Health and Human Services established performance benchmarks for timely notification, donation after cardiac death (DCD), and conversion rates (total donors/eligible deaths) to guide organ procurement organizations and donor hospitals in their attempts to increase the number of transplantable organs. In January 2007, an organ donor council (ODC) with an ongoing performance improvement case review process was created at a Level I trauma center. ⋯ Conversion rate increased from 53 per cent in 2007 to 78 per cent in 2008 (P = 0.05) and 73 per cent in 2009 (P = 0.16). Organs transplanted per eligible death trended upward from 1.80 in 2007 to 2.54 in 2009 (P = 0.20). As a consequence, the establishment of a multidisciplinary ODC and performance improvement initiative demonstrated improved donation outcomes.
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An increasing number of super geriatric (age older than 80 years) patients are being hospitalized with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although geriatric (age older than 65 years) patients have been reported to have a worse functional outcome compared with younger patients who present with the same or less severe degree of TBI; the mortality for the super geriatric (age older than 80 years) remains to be determined. Knowledge of their hospital mortality may help improve clinical decision-making protocols and resource use. ⋯ There was a trend toward decrease in mortality from age Group III to IV (21 vs. 6%, P = 0.09), which is of unclear etiology and warrants further study. In patients with blunt TBI, there is no significant difference in mortality between the super geriatric age group (age older than 80 years) and the younger pediatric, adult, and geriatric age groups. Resource use therefore should not be limited to patients older than 80 years with TBI.