European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Dec 2014
Modern resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock: what is on the horizon?
Mortality rates among the severely injured remain high. The successful treatment of hemorrhagic shock relies on expeditious control of bleeding through surgical ligation, packing, or endovascular techniques. An important secondary concern in hemorrhaging patients is how to respond to the lost blood volume. A single method that is able to adequately address all needs of the exsanguinating patient has not yet been agreed upon, despite a large growth of knowledge regarding the causative factors of traumatic shock. ⋯ Many different trials are currently underway to discriminate ways to improve outcomes in the severely injured and bleeding patient. This paper will review: (1) recent advances in our understanding of the effects hemorrhagic shock has on the coagulation cascade and vascular endothelium, (2) recent research findings that have changed resuscitation, and (3) resuscitation strategies that are not widely used but under active investigation.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Dec 2014
Diagnosing isolated nasal fractures in the emergency department: are they missed or overdiagnosed? Ten years experience of 535 forensic cases.
Nasal bone is the most common broken bone of the face. Incorrect assessments of nasal trauma are frequently encountered in forensic evaluations. Here, we aimed to determine the reasons and frequency of erroneous assessments of nasal trauma in emergency department (ED). ⋯ We found that nasal fractures are rarely missed while the overdiagnosis was very common. Examination of patients by a general practitioner or an emergency physician without consultation with a specialist and using only plain radiographs were found to be independent parameters affecting overdiagnosis.