J Trauma
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The purpose of the present study was to test the association between on-site intravenous fluid replacement and mortality in patients with severe trauma. The effect of prehospital time on this association was also evaluated. The design was that of an observational quasi-experimental study comparing 217 patients who had on-site intravenous fluid replacement (IV group) with an equal number of matched patients for whom this intervention was not performed (no-IV group). ⋯ The results of this observational study have shown that the use of on-site intravenous fluid replacement is associated with an increase in mortality risk and that this association is exacerbated by, but is not solely the result of, increased prehospital times. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early intravenous fluid replacement is harmful because it disrupts the normal physiologic response to severe bleeding. Although this evidence is against the implementation of on-site intravenous fluid replacement for severely injured patients, further studies including randomized controlled trials are required to provide a definitive answer to this question.
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Case Reports
Posterior fracture-dislocation of the shoulder with infraspinatus interposition: the buttonhole phenomenon.
We present a case with a posterior fracture-dislocation in which interposition of the infraspinatus precluded closed reduction by means of standard manipulation. The fractured greater tuberosity included the lesser tuberosity, allowing the infraspinatus to dislocate anterior to the dislocated humeral head and interpose between the humeral head and the glenoid cavity. ⋯ Traction in the zero-position was thus required for resolution of constriction and subsequent reduction. Computed tomography was useful to demonstrate interposition of the infraspinatus and to plan the treatment.
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Multicenter Study
Probability model of hospital death for severe trauma patients based on the Simplified Acute Physiology Score I: development and validation. Archivio Diagnostico.
We evaluated whether or not the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) I is a suitable audit system for trauma patients admitted to general intensive care units (ICUs). A probability model for SAPS I was retrospectively assessed on trauma patients admitted to general ICUs from 1990 to 1992. Because it was determined that SAPS did not fit the data well, we developed a customized probability model of SAPS I for trauma patients and validated it prospectively on an independent data set (patients admitted to general ICU in 1993-1994). Measures of calibration (goodness of fit) and discrimination (receiver operating characteristic curve) were adopted to assess the performance of the model. ⋯ Customization of SAPS I for trauma patients has shown good calibration and high discriminatory power in Italian ICUs and when applied to an independent data base. The advantage of customization would be the collection of the same set of variables for all patients admitted to ICUs against the use of specific scoring systems.
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Seventeen femoral nonunions after intramedullary nail internal fixation were treated with augmentative plate internal fixation. Six of them were initially managed with a Küntscher nail internal fixation; the other 11 fractures were managed with a locked nail internal fixation. All the femoral nonunions were caused by insecure fixation of the intramedullary nailing, in which a rotational instability of the fracture site was verified in all cases during operation. ⋯ From our experience, we have found this method is a useful treatment for the nonunion of the femoral shaft fracture after an intramedullary nail internal fixation. The technique is simple and does not require any special instrument. It facilitates an early weight bearing and gives a quick recovery from nonunion.