Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Multiple regional trauma systems have been implemented over the past 3 decades to achieve the goal of regionalized care for injured patients. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) advocates that seriously injured patients should be treated in designated Level I trauma centers that meet criteria including admitting more than 1,200 injured patients annually. Reliable measures are needed to evaluate the implementation of regionalized care nationally. The goal of this study was to measure the proportion of seriously injured patients treated at high injury-volume hospitals. ⋯ The proportion of seriously injured patients in high-volume hospitals is a functional metric that provides a practicable and comprehensive measure of regionalized trauma care in the US. Injured elder Americans have less access to experienced trauma hospitals.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Lymphocyte phenotyping to distinguish septic from nonseptic critical illness.
Clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis are nonspecific and often indistinguishable from those of nonseptic critical illness. This ambiguity frequently delays the diagnosis of sepsis until culture results can confirm the presence or absence of an infectious organism. Lymphocyte phenotyping can be conducted rapidly and may provide information on the presence of infection before culture results are available. In this study, we hypothesized that lymphocyte phenotype can distinguish between septic and nonseptic critical illness. ⋯ These data indicated that CD69 expression on lymphocytes may be useful in distinguishing between septic and nonseptic critical illness. Continued investigation into the expression of CD69 during sepsis is warranted.
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There is controversy about the appropriate sequence of urologic investigation in patients with pelvic fracture. Use of retrograde urethrography or cystography may interfere with regular pelvic CT scanning for arterial extravasation. ⋯ Extravasating contrast from lower urologic injuries can interfere with the CT assessment for pelvic arterial extravasation, delaying angiographic embolization.
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Trauma is the leading cause of death among North Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 years. Resuscitation with hypertonic saline (7.5%) solutions can reduce mortality in hypotensive and brain-injured patients. ⋯ We have successfully designed and implemented two prehospital intervention trials. The proc-ess has helped define the numerous challenges that must be overcome to pursue exception from informed consent resuscitation research in the prehospital setting. The results of these studies will hopefully advance and improve the early care of the severely injured patient.