Articles: trauma.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Does midazolam enhance pain control in prehospital management of traumatic severe pain?
Midazolam comedication with morphine is a routine practice in pre and postoperative patients but has not been evaluated in prehospital setting. We aimed to evaluate the comedication effect of midazolam in the prehospital traumatic adults. ⋯ According to our study, midazolam does not enhance pain control as an adjunctive to morphine regimen in the management of trauma-induced pain in prehospital setting. However, such midazolam use seems to be associated with an increase in drowsiness.
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The use of computed tomographic scanning in blunt head trauma has increased dramatically in recent years without an accompanying rise in the prevalence of injury or hospital admission for serious conditions. Because computed tomography is neither harmless nor inexpensive, researchers have attempted to optimize utilization, largely through research that describes which clinical variables predict intracranial injury, and use this information to develop clinical decision instruments. Although such techniques may be useful when the benefits and harms of each strategy (neuroimaging vs observation) are quantifiable and amenable to comparison, the exact magnitude of these benefits and harms remains unknown in this clinical scenario. ⋯ We posit that elements unrelated to standard clinical factors, such as personality of the physician, fear of litigation and of missed diagnoses, patient expectations, and compensation method, may have equal or greater impact on actual decision making than traditional clinical factors. We believe that 3 particular factors deserve special consideration for further research: fear of error/malpractice, financial incentives, and patient engagement. Acknowledgement and study of these factors will be essential if we are to understand how emergency physicians truly make these decisions and how test-ordering behavior can be modified.
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Chirurgie de la main · Jun 2014
ReviewSurgical management of combat-related upper extremity injuries.
This review presents the current surgical management of combat-related upper extremity injuries during the acute phase. The strategy consists of saving the life, saving the limb and retaining function. ⋯ Features of the definitive management of local casualties in battlefield medical facilities are also discussed. In this situation, reconstructive procedures have to take into account the limited resources and operational constraints.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jun 2014
Longitudinal and Prognostic Evaluation of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: a 1H-MRS Study.
In the majority of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), brain tissue impairment is undetectable by computed tomography and/or structural magnetic resonance imaging. Even in confirmed cases of head injury, conventional neuroimaging methods lack sensitivity in predicting neuropsychological outcomes of patients. The objectives of this study were to (1) cross-sectionally determine deviations in the neurometabolic profile of patients with mTBI from healthy controls at different stages of mTBI using tightly controlled examination windows, and (2) determine associations between acute neurometabolic markers of mTBI and chronic neurocognitive performance. ⋯ Measurements in the thalamus and centrum semiovale (CSV) emerged as the most indicative of injury and were used to predict neurocognitive outcome. The major findings of this study are (1) decreases in Cho/Cre (choline-to-creatine ratio) measured in the thalamus (p=0.042) and CSV (p=0.017) at the late subacute stage of mTBI; (2) positive associations of early subacute Cre measurements in the CSV with chronic ANAM scores measuring performance in delayed (r=0.497, p=0.019) and immediate (r=0.391, p=0.072) code substitution. These findings show that metabolic measurements in the thalamus and CSV can potentially serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers of mTBI.
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Surgery is a posttraumatic immune stimulus which contributes to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome and multiple organ failure (MOF). Serum markers may facilitate post-injury immune monitoring, predict complications and guide the timing of surgery. ⋯ An increase in posttraumatic serum cytokines has been demonstrated after surgery, but without consistent clinical associations. The timing of surgery may modulate this increase. Future research directions include confirmation of findings in larger populations, clarifying clinical associations, and evaluation of other surgical interventions.