J Trauma
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Experimental studies have shown that hemorrhagic shock is associated with the expression of inducible heat proteins, especially heat shock protein (Hsp) 72, in liver, brain, heart, and kidney. Moreover, induction of Hsp 72 by various stressors before the onset of shock has been associated with the attenuation of organ injury caused by hemorrhage. However, it is not known whether Hsp 72 is expressed after severe trauma in humans. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine whether Hsp 72 could be detected in the serum of patients early after severe trauma and whether serum levels of Hsp 72 might correlate with survival of trauma patients or the severity of the postinjury inflammatory response. ⋯ Hsp 72 can be detected in the serum of severely traumatized patients within 30 minutes after injury. Elevated initial serum levels of Hsp 72 (serum levels > 15 ng/mL) are associated with survival after severe trauma, but are not related to the incidence or severity of the postinjury inflammatory response or organ dysfunction.
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Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among children older than 1 year. Use of appropriate restraint systems is associated with reductions in morbidity and mortality in this age group. No studies have evaluated the association between specific injury patterns and restraint use among children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in risks of injuries in different body regions according to restraint use among children 0 to 11 years of age. ⋯ Proper restraint use among children is associated with lower risk of injury. Educational initiatives should focus not only on encouraging restraint use but also on ensuring that parents know the appropriate age-dependent restraint method and how to use it properly.
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Major trauma presents major diagnostic and therapeutic problems. Any delay in providing the treatment necessary may lead to increased morbidity and mortality, prolonged length of hospital stay, and increased cost. This study was undertaken to determine the extent, contributing factors, and implication of missed injuries and relate them to the three surveys in a Danish Level I trauma center. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that missed injuries can occur at any stage of the management of patients with major trauma. Repeated assessments, both clinical and radiologic, are mandatory to diminish the problem. In initial assessment, one still has to treat the greatest threat to life before complete diagnosis of all injuries, but alertness to evolving injuries must remain throughout the patient's stay in hospital.
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Alcohol intoxication is associated with a high incidence of traumatic injury, particularly in the young healthy population. The impact of alcohol intoxication on the immediate pathophysiologic response to injury has not been closely examined. We hypothesized that acute alcohol intoxication would aggravate the immediate outcome from hemorrhagic shock by impairing homeostatic counterregulation to blood loss. ⋯ These results indicate marked alterations in the hemodynamic and metabolic responses to hemorrhagic shock by alcohol intoxication. Furthermore, our findings suggest that alcohol modulates the early proinflammatory responses to hemorrhagic shock. Taken together, these alterations in metabolic and inflammatory responses to hemorrhage are likely to impair immediate outcome and predispose to tissue injury.
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In a statistical outcome analysis covering 10 years, 554 patients with isolated head trauma were analyzed. The aim of this study was to combine clinical and computed tomographic characteristics in a prognostic scoring system determining outcome after head injury. ⋯ The presented scaling system allows a predictive value in mortality and morbidity to be determined for each patient suffering from brain trauma.