European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2024
Comparison of whole body computed tomography findings with physician predictions in high-energy blunt trauma patients: prospective observational study.
The whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) procedure is increasingly common in evaluating patients presenting with high-energy trauma. However, it remains unclear in which population WBCT provides benefit and whether its routine application is truly beneficial. In this study, we aimed to compare physician predictions with WBCT findings in patients with high-energy blunt trauma. ⋯ The study included a total of 92 patients. The median age was 27 years (IQR 25-75; 20-54). Among the patients, 27 (%) had life-threatening injuries according to CT findings in any region. A total of 34 (37%) patients were predicted by physicians to have "no pathology" in all three regions. Among these patients, none had life-threatening pathology in all three regions. There were 10 (10.9%) patients with CT findings more severe than physician predictions in at least one region. The sensitivity of physician predictions for life-threatening injury to the head/cervical region was 94.1% (95% CI: 71.3-99.9). For life-threatening injury to the chest, the sensitivity was 85.7% (95% CI: 42.1-99.6). For the presence of life-threatening abdominal pathology, the sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 63.1-100). CONCLUSıON: It appears reasonable to utilize WBCT in patients where physicians expect life-threatening injury in any system. However, in cases where no pathology is expected in any system according to clinical prediction, we believe that performing WBCT solely based on trauma mechanism will not provide sufficient benefit.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2024
No drains versus drains after perforated peptic ulcer repair: A randomized controlled trail.
The study aimed to evaluate safety of omitting the intraabdominal drains after perforated peptic ulcer repairs. ⋯ Omitting the intraabdominal drains is safe after peptic ulcer perforation repair. It can improve outcomes. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06084741.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2024
Role of low-pressure negative pleural suction in patients with thoracic trauma - a randomized controlled trial.
Thoracic trauma frequently includes a pneumothorax, hemothorax, or hemopneumothorax, which may necessitate an Intercostal drainage (ICD) for air and fluid evacuation to improve breathing and circulatory function. It is a simple and life-saving procedure; nevertheless, it carries morbidity, even after its removal. Efforts have been made continuously to shorten the duration of ICD, but mostly in non-trauma patients. In this study, we evaluated the impact of negative pleural suction over the duration of ICD. ⋯ Therapeutic Study, Level II TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) with registration no. REF/2020/11/038403.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2024
Symmetry of the left and right tibial plafond; a comparison of 75 distal tibia pairs.
Tibia plafond or pilon fractures present a high level of complexity, making their surgical management challenging. Three-Dimensional Virtual Planning (3DVP) can assist in preoperative planning to achieve optimal fracture reduction. This study aimed to assess the symmetry of the left and right tibial plafond and whether left-right mirroring can reliably be used. ⋯ The tibial plafond exhibits a high degree of bilateral symmetry. Therefore, the mirrored unfractured tibial plafond may be used as a template to optimize preoperative surgical reduction using 3DVP techniques in patients with pilon fractures.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Jun 2024
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic-induced surgical restrictions on operational performance: a case study at the University Hospital of Ulm.
The operating room (OR) is a high-cost and high-revenue area in a hospital comprising extremely complex process steps to treat patients. The perioperative process quality can be optimized through an efficiency-oriented central OR management based on performance indices. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic with the corresponding OR restrictions, there was a significant nation- and worldwide decline in the performance, which may have a lasting impact. Therefore, we proposed the hypothesis that COVID-19 pandemic-related OR restrictions could reduce operative performance in the long term. ⋯ Overall, long-term changes were found in essential perioperative process times even after retraction of the COVID-19 restrictions, indicating some processual "slow down" after the Covid-19-induced "shut down". Further analyses are needed to determine the appropriate targeted control measures to improve processing times and increase the process quality.