Eur J Trauma Emerg S
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Feb 2013
Ultrasonographic diagnosis of abdominal free fluid: accuracy comparison of emergency physicians and radiologists.
Blunt abdominal trauma is a diagnostic challenge for emergency physicians and ultrasonography is one of the diagnostic tools used in this type of injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasonographies performed by emergency physicians and radiologists. ⋯ Emergency physicians showed a promising performance in applying FAST in blunt abdominal trauma. The specificity of ultrasonographic diagnosis in the emergency physicians group and the radiologists group were comparable, while radiologists showed a higher performance regarding the sensitivity of the ultrasonographic diagnosis.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Feb 2013
Angiographic embolization in the treatment of arterial pelvic hemorrhage: evaluation of prognostic mortality-related factors.
The control of arterial bleeding associated with pelvic ring and acetabular fractures (PRAF) remains a challenge for emergency trauma care. The aim of the present study was to uncover early prognostic mortality-related factors in PRAF-related arterial bleedings treated with transcatheter angiographic embolization (TAE). ⋯ PRAF patients with exsanguinating bleeding from the large pelvic artery have the worst prognosis. Very low BE values (<-10.0 mmol/l) on admission for exsanguinating patients have a negative predictive value for survival, thus anticipating a poor outcome in bleeding controlled with TAE only and an increased risk of death. In critical cases, an aggressive bleeding control protocol prompts extraperitoneal pelvic packing prior to TAE. PRAF-related rupture of the external iliac artery is rare and indicates surgical techniques in controlling and restoring blood supply to the lower leg.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Feb 2013
Reamed intramedullary nailing of diaphyseal tibial fractures: comparison of compression and non-compression nailing.
Modern intramedullary implants provide the option to perform compression at the fracture gap in long bone fractures via a compression screw mechanism. The aim of this study was to assess if the application of interfragmentary compression in the intramedullary nailing of tibia fractures could increase the union rate and speed of fracture healing. ⋯ The results show that additional compression of the fracture gap can improve healing outcome in simple transverse tibial shaft fractures treated with reamed nailing.