European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Pancreatic enzymes are routinely measured during reception of trauma patients to assess for pancreatic injury despite conflicting evidence on their utility. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of routine initial serum lipase measurement for the diagnosis of acute pancreatic trauma. ⋯ A normal serum lipase result can be a useful adjunct to exclude pancreatic injury. A positive lipase result, regardless of the cut-off used, was not reliably associated with pancreatic trauma, and should not be used to guide further assessment.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2014
Epidemiology of pertrochanteric fractures: our institutional experience.
Hip fractures, a common manifestation of fragility fractures, represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population and may have devastating consequences to the patient, their family, and society thereafter. We attempted to define the epidemiology of pertrochanteric fractures treated at a large university teaching hospital in the UK and compared our findings with the national and international literature. ⋯ The incidence of pertrochanteric fractures remained unchanged over the last 5 years. The relative incidence of pertrochanteric fractures is higher in elderly females; this may be explained by reduced bone mineral density and reduced trochanteric bone strength. Rigorous preventive treatments of osteoporosis should be considered in high-risk patients, along with improved safety measures to reduce falls.