Articles: trauma.
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The primary goal of this study was to compare the chest wall thicknesses (CWT) at the 2nd intercostal space (ICS) at the mid-clavicular line (MCL) and 5th ICS at the mid-axillary line (MAL) in a population of patients with a CT confirmed pneumothorax (PTX). This result will help physicians to determine the optimum needle thoracostomy (NT) puncture site in patients with a PTX. ⋯ This study confirms that a 5.0-cm catheter would be unlikely to access the pleural space in at least 1/3 of female and 1/10 of male Turkish trauma patients, regardless of the puncture site. If NT is needed, the 5th ICS-MAL is a better option for a puncture site with thinner CWT.
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Extremity wounds account for most battlefield injuries. Clinical examination may be unreliable by medics or first responders, and continuous assessment by experienced practitioners may not be possible on the frontline or during transport. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides continuous, noninvasive monitoring of tissue oxygen saturation (StO2), but its use is limited by inter-patient and intra-patient variability. We tested the hypothesis that bilateral NIRS partially addresses the variability problem and can reliably identify vascular injury after extremity trauma. ⋯ Continuous monitoring of bilateral limbs with NIRS detects changes in perfusion resulting from arterial or venous injury and may offer advantages over serial manual measurements of pulses or Doppler signals. This technique may be most relevant in military and disaster scenarios or during transport, in which the ability to monitor limb perfusion is difficult or experienced clinical judgment is unavailable.
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Studies on blood product transfusions after trauma recommend targeting specific ratios to reduce mortality. Although crystalloid volumes as little as 1.5 L predict increased mortality after trauma, little data is available regarding the threshold of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion volume that predicts increased mortality. ⋯ Although transfusion of greater than 2 units in the ED was an independent predictor of mortality, transfusion of 2 units or less was not. Interestingly, unlike crystalloid volume, stepwise increases in blood volume were not associated with stepwise increases in mortality. The underlying etiology for mortality discrepancies, such as transfusion ratios, hypothermia, or immunosuppression, needs to be better delineated.
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Knives cause more disabling injuries than any other type of hand tool. ⋯ Knives represent an important source of morbidity and mortality to people of all ages. Manufacturers should develop safer knife designs that incorporate features, such as improved opening and closing mechanisms on pocket knives, to prevent these injuries. Other potential safety efforts include targeted educational interventions and changes in voluntary product safety standards and public policy.
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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.