J Trauma
-
The rapid treatment of patients with a severe head injury often includes prehospital intubation and sedation, but such measures compromise the ability to obtain an accurate Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score in the emergency department (ED). Major head injury centers in the United States were surveyed to determine how they currently obtain initial GCS scores when these or other complicating circumstances exist. A two-page questionnaire was distributed to seven members of the trauma team at 17 major neurotrauma centers in which they were asked who usually determines the initial GCS score, where they are assessed, and when. ⋯ Most neurosurgeons said that hypotension and hypoxia are stabilized before the initial GCS scores are assessed and that intubated patients receive a non-numerical designation. But the majority of non-neurosurgical ED personnel said that they determine the initial GCS scores immediately after arrival of the patients in their department, regardless of hypoxia or hypotension. There also were significant discrepancies between attending neurosurgeons and their residents with regard to who actually assesses the GCS scores and how the scores are determined for patients who have received neuromuscular paralysis or sedation or who have severe periorbital swelling.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
-
Review Case Reports
Baluster entrapment avulsion of the little finger: a new clinical entity--case reports.
Five cases of avulsion injuries of the little finger are described. The mechanism of injury was identical in all cases. The little finger was entrapped by a baluster when the patient frantically attempted to grasp the handrail to avoid falling down stairs. To our knowledge, this type of injury has not been reported previously.
-
Review Case Reports
Successful roadside resuscitative thoracotomy: case report and literature review.
Patients with injuries severe enough to require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have a dismal prognosis. Time to surgical intervention is a major determinant of outcome in moribund trauma patients who have a potential for survival. With the exception of endotracheal intubation during evacuation to surgical intervention, no other usual prehospital procedures have been validated to affect outcome in such cases of extremis. ⋯ The patient recovered fully and was discharged home in 21 days, neurologically intact. Four years later, the patient was alive, healthy, and working. This report demonstrates the feasibility of prehospital thoracotomy and raises provocative issues regarding future intense surgical involvement in prehospital care.
-
Comparative Study
Functional limitation after major trauma: a more sensitive assessment using the Quality of Well-being scale--the trauma recovery pilot project.
Little is known about the degree of disability and quality of life of patients after major trauma. We conducted a prospective study to examine the incidence and predictors of functional limitation (FL). Between January 1, 1990 and March 30, 1990, 61 eligible trauma patients were enrolled in the study (admission GCS score > or = 12, LOS > 24 hours). ⋯ The QWB scores improved between discharge and follow-up; discharge mean = 0.457 (+/- 0.048), follow-up mean = 0.613 (+/- 0.118), but the mean QWB score at follow-up still reflected a significant degree of functional limitation. The mean percentage of change in QWB scores was 34.5% (+/- 25.5%) with a range of -6.34% to 103.8%. The discharge mean FDS was 29 (+/- 6.2) while the follow-up FDS mean was 17 (+/- 3.8), reflecting that most patients at follow-up reported near-perfect ADL functioning.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
-
A review of the literature identified a need for a prospective study of the complete range of craniofacial trauma. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence, etiology, and mechanisms of craniofacial and associated injuries, enabling a greater understanding of their range and magnitude. Nine hundred fifty consecutive patients seen at an urban university hospital with any degree of craniofacial trauma were prospectively investigated. ⋯ Craniofacial soft-tissue injuries overall occurred most frequently on the forehead, nose, lips, and chin, and a method for their classification is proposed. The commonest craniofacial fracture was that of the nasal bones (45%), followed by cranial bones (24%), mandible (13%), zygoma (13%), orbital blow-out (3%), and maxilla (2%). The incidence of craniofacial trauma can be greatly reduced by improvements in interior home design, school education in alcohol abuse and handling potentially hostile situations (especially for men), improvement in automotive safety devices and compliance by motor vehicle occupants, and utilization of full-face helmets by bicyclists and motorcyclists.