Arch Surg Chicago
-
To audit emergency department thoracotomies from January 1981 to May 1993. ⋯ Emergency department thoracotomies have a definite role in the management of trauma patients. The best results are obtained in patients with penetrating chest injuries.
-
Clinical Trial
Utility of routine chest radiographs in the surgical intensive care unit. A prospective study.
To correlate patient condition and reasons for obtaining chest radiographs (CXRs) with the utility of CXRs in critical illness and to determine the potential impact of stricter criteria for obtaining a CXR in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ Chest radiographs should only be obtained on surgical ICU patients for specific indications. Routine CXRs for ICU patients are justified only for patients with indwelling Swan-Ganz catheters.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Interleukin-1 blockade attenuates mediator release and dysregulation of the hemostatic mechanism during human sepsis.
To define the influence of interleukin-1 activity on coagulation and fibrinolytic system activation and the release of proinflammatory mediators in the early human response to severe infection. ⋯ The results confirm that activation of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems and release of soluble inflammatory mediators are consistently observed in patients with severe sepsis syndrome. Interleukin-1 activity contributes to activation of these processes as documented by the reduction in surrogate activation markers during recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist treatment.