European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2014
Should prehospital resuscitative thoracotomy be incorporated in advanced life support after traumatic cardiac arrest?
The survival of traumatic cardiac arrest patients poses a challenge for Emergency Medical Services initiating advanced life support on-scene, especially with regard to having to decide immediately whether to initiate prehospital emergency thoracotomy. Although the necessity for carrying out the procedure remains a cause for debate, it can be life-saving when performed with the correct indications and approaches.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2014
Intramedullary nailing in pertrochanteric fractures of the proximal femur.
Pertrochanteric fractures of the proximal femur should be treated surgically, unless the medical condition of the patient does not allow it. Currently, there are two ways to fix these fractures; either with a sliding hip screw or with an intramedullary nail. However, there is much debate over which implant is the best for pertrochanteric fracture fixation. The sliding hip screw has been used over time with good clinical results. While it was true that with first generation intramedullary nails the risk of complications was higher, there is evidence supporting the superiority of intramedullary nails in these fractures when compared with sliding hip screws. This evidence is based on the good clinical results and fewer complications, due to an improvement in the design of the implants and surgical technique used by surgeons. In stable fractures, despite the method chosen for fixation, obtaining a good reduction prior to placing the implant is the most important factor that can be controlled by the surgeon. In stable fractures the surgeon experience is a strong factor to account for when choosing the type of implant. Clearly there are fracture patterns (reverse oblique and subtrochanteric extension) that benefit from the use of intramedullary devices due to the high risk of failure if plates are used. ⋯ It is very important that the surgeon identifies these fractures, so the type of fixation device which is chosen achieves the greatest stability possible. The aim of this paper is not to convince the surgeon about using intramedullary nails, but highlight the potential benefits intramedullary nailing has when compared with the use of extramedullary devices.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2014
Pooled preventable death rates in trauma patients : Meta analysis and systematic review since 1990.
To estimate the pooled PDRs (preventable death rates) with articles being published since 1990, and compare the differences of PDRs over time and according to the evaluation approaches to determine preventable deaths. ⋯ This article provided some insights about the trauma care system by computing the pooled estimate of PDRs over the past 23 years as an indicator. The pooled PDR was estimated as approximately 20 %, with no statistical significance of differences in PDRs over time or by the evaluation methods employed. That left us still room for improvement in trauma care system despite our efforts to reduce PDRs. In addition, when 'statistical approaches' are applied alone to estimate PDRs, we recommend that statistical methods should be applied with caution when the characteristics of trauma patients are heterogeneous. The optimal approach might be to combine both statistical and panel review approaches instead of employing a single approach.