J Trauma
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Most foreign bodies in the chest do their damage at the time of injury. While needle-like objects may migrate (6), delayed intrathoracic injury is rare. Delayed transthoracic penetration of the heart by a staple is reported, and is felt to be unique because acute hemopericardium resulted 30 days after the time of initial injury. The principles of recognition of pericardial tamponade, initial stabilization with periocardiocentesis, and immediate exploration are emphasized.
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A patient with a delayed aorto-right ventricular fistula and aortic valve injury after penetrating trauma is reported, and 17 similar additional cases from the literature reviewed. By examining the aortic root of adults with normal cardiac anatomy at autopsy, we defined the target area for these injuries as a 2 X 2 cm contact surface between the aorta above the right coronary cusp and the right ventricular outflow tract below the pulmonary valve. Five of the 18 patients required emergency exploration due to hemodynamic instability. ⋯ Patients with combination aortic valve and aortocardiac fistula injuries, more so than those with a single intracardiac lesion, fail with nonoperative management. Of the 18 patients, 17 underwent surgery. One of these died: the others did well during short-term followup (less than 1 year).
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Complete dislocation of the tarsal cuboid is presented along with regional anatomic considerations. Thorough literature search revealed only three other reported cases of dislocation of the tarsal cuboid. ⋯ It should be emphasized that A-P, lateral, and oblique X-rays should be obtained for injuries of the mid and forefoot. The rarity of such a dislocation is attributed to the structural integrity of the supporting ligamentous elements.
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Comparative Study
Fluid resuscitation after an otherwise fatal hemorrhage: I. Crystalloid solutions.
One half of deaths among trauma victims occur within 1 hour of injury and are due to rapid hemorrhage or CNS trauma. We developed a rapid hemorrhage model in unanesthetized swine to simulate human exsanguination. We compared the ability of four crystalloid solutions to prevent death after an otherwise fatal hemorrhage: normal saline (NS), Ringer's lactate (RL), Plasmalyte-A (PA), and Plasmalyte-R (PR). ⋯ Aortic blood (54 ml/kg) was removed in 15 minutes from 116 swine. The percentages of shed blood replaced were 14% in 5 minutes with NS, 100% in 20 minutes with NS, and 300% in 30 minutes with NS, RL, PA, or PR. We found that all mortalities were determined within 2 hours after hemorrhage and that RL provided the best survival rate of 67% (NS 300% = 50%, PR = 40%, and PA = 30%.) After an analysis of arterial blood gas, lactate, acid-base, heart rate, and aortic pressure measurements, we conclude that RL is the superior crystalloid solution because of its decreased chloride load (compared to NS) and because of the absence of acetate or magnesium (compared to PA and PR).
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We have reported the case of an anterolateral dislocation of the proximal tibiofibular joint in a soccer player, apparently the second case in the literature. As in that reported by O'Rourke and McManus, this patient was attempting to gain his balance and this may indeed be an important contributing factor. ⋯ Treatment usually consists of closed reduction with 3 weeks of casting. In complicated cases, however, resection of the fibular head may be required.