European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Oct 2019
ReviewTotal knee arthroplasty for distal femoral fractures in osteoporotic bone: a systematic literature review.
Distal femoral fractures in the elderly are associated with high morbidity and mortality and their incidence is increasing with an ageing population. Management of these fractures has evolved over recent decades and there is now an accepted recognition of the important role that acute arthroplasty may have in treatment of these fractures. Our purpose was to systematically review the evidence available in the literature for arthroplasty as a treatment option for distal femoral fractures. ⋯ Although there is limited evidence in the literature available, our review suggests that there is a role for acute knee arthroplasty in distal femoral fractures. This mode of treatment has satisfactory mortality and revision rates, and may result in faster time to mobilisation and discharge. There is a need for a higher level of evidence to delineate this issue further.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Oct 2019
Comparative StudyComparison of PECARN and CATCH clinical decision rules in children with minor blunt head trauma.
Computerized brain tomography (CBT) imaging plays a key role in the management of patients with head trauma, and there is an indication for CBT in moderate and severe injuries. However, it is difficult to determine an indication for CBT in patients with minor head trauma. The primary aim of this study is to compare the efficiency of the most commonly used clinical decision rules: the guidelines of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), and those of the Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury (CATCH). ⋯ While both PECARN and CATCH were found to be effective in determining the necessity of CBT for children with minor blunt head trauma, PECARN proved to be more useful for emergency services because of its higher sensitivity. The authors suggest that conducting a CBT scan based on clinical decision rules may be a suitable approach for early detection of the presence of intracranial acute pathologies in young children with minor blunt head trauma, especially if the GCS score is < 15 and non-frontal hematomas are present.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Oct 2019
ReviewRoad traffic injuries in Poland: magnitude and risk factors.
The article presents the epidemiology of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Poland in the years 2004-2014. In Poland, every fourth death caused by external reasons is the result of a road traffic crash and Poland has one of the highest road fatality rates in relation to vehicle ownership in Europe, with an average 23 deaths per million residents. This rate is two times higher than most other European Union countries. ⋯ The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of road crashes in Poland remains very high. Multifaceted action to improve safety on the roads in Poland should continue.