Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)
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Motorcycle collisions are increasing at a precipitous rate, and reliable and valid data regarding all aspects of helmet safety are needed to better inform ongoing debates on mandatory helmet laws. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of motorcycle helmets on the likelihood of a facial injury after motorcycle collisions, using data from the National Trauma Data Bank, version 7.0, on 46 362 patients from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2006. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the independent association between helmets and facial injury with adjustment for potential confounders. Helmeted motorcyclists were less likely to suffer facial injuries after a motorcycle collision, with a lower adjusted odds ratio of facial injury (0.40; 95% CI, 0.37-0.43) and a lower prevalence of specific types of facial injury compared with their nonhelmeted counterparts.
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To describe the perspectives of surgical interns regarding the implications of the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty-hour regulations for their training. ⋯ Although less pessimistic than program directors, interns beginning their training under the new paradigm of duty-hour restrictions have significant concerns about the effect of these regulations on the quality of their training.
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To examine the specific injuries, need for operative intervention, and clinical outcomes of patients with blunt thoracoabdominal trauma. ⋯ Most patients with blunt thoracoabdominal trauma are managed nonoperatively. The need for non-resuscitative thoracotomy or combined thoracoabdominal operation is rare. The abdomen contains the overwhelming majority of injuries requiring operative intervention and should be the initial cavity of exploration in the patient requiring emergent surgery without directive radiologic data.