Articles: trauma.
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A child's risk of developing cancer from radiation exposure associated with computed tomography (CT) imaging is estimated to be as high as 1/500. Chest CT (CCT), often as part of a "pan-scan," is increasingly performed after blunt trauma in children. We hypothesized that routine CCT for the initial evaluation of blunt injured children does not add clinically useful information beyond chest radiograph (CXR) and rarely changes management. ⋯ Clinically useful information found on CCT had good correlation to information obtained from CXR and did not change patient management, however, did add significantly to the radiation exposure of initial imaging. We recommend selective use of CCT, particularly in the presence of an abnormal mediastinal silhouette on CXR after a significant deceleration injury.
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J Paediatr Child Health · Sep 2013
Paediatric health-care professionals: relationships between psychological distress, resilience and coping skills.
To investigate the impact of regular exposure to paediatric medical trauma on multidisciplinary teams in a paediatric hospital and the relationships between psychological distress, resilience and coping skills. ⋯ Paediatric medical trauma can adversely affect a health professional's well-being, particularly those <25 years of age who make less use of positive coping strategies and more use of non-productive coping. These findings will assist the development of effective and meaningful interventions for health professionals working in paediatric hospitals.
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Imaging after blunt cervical trauma is being used increasingly to screen patients for injury of the vertebral artery (VA). There are no guidelines for imaging of the VA for nonpenetrating cervical trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of VA injury on clinical outcome after blunt cervical trauma. ⋯ The clinical outcome of patients with blunt cervical trauma was not associated with the presence of VA abnormalities. Given the rare but potentially devastating consequences of a VA injury, however, screening may still be worthwhile.
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Comparative Study
Flutamide fails to reduce resuscitation requirements in a porcine ischemia-reperfusion model.
Hemorrhagic shock and subsequent resuscitation can lead to ischemia-reperfusion injury, followed by multiorgan failure and death. Flutamide, a vasoactive nonsteroidal antiandrogen compound, is thought to improve tissue and organ perfusion. We tested whether administration of flutamide-cyclodextrin (FLU-CYD) alters physiologic parameters or resuscitation requirements in a porcine model of severe acidosis and shock secondary to combined hemorrhage + ischemia-reperfusion injury. ⋯ Flutamide failed to show any benefit to resuscitation in a model of severe injury and was associated with increased acidosis, hemodilution, and liver injury compared with standard crystalloid resuscitation.