Articles: trauma.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Dec 2011
Implant removal associated complications in children with limb fractures due to trauma.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the number and type of complications that occurred after fracture implant removal and to investigate whether implant removal should be performed routinely in children. ⋯ The removal of K-wires, ESIN, and screws is considered to be a safe procedure in children and is, by definition, indicated for K-wires and ESIN after fracture healing.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Dec 2011
Health-related quality of life of trauma patients after intensive care: a 2-year follow-up study.
This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in trauma patients 2 years after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) in Zunyi, China, and to investigate the possible determinants of HRQOL. ⋯ The HRQOL of a group of Chinese trauma patients after ICU treatment improved from 1 to 2 years after discharge. Age, sex, length of ICU stay, ISS, and existence of head injury were associated with physical or mental HRQOL after discharge. Further studies with more measurements and larger sample sizes are still warranted.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Dec 2011
Risk factors associated with the development of post-traumatic retained hemothorax.
To identify risk factors associated with the development of post-traumatic retained hemothorax in chest trauma patients admitted to Hospital San Vicente de Paul (HUSVP). ⋯ The risk of post-traumatic retained hemothorax was associated with four factors. The probability of the outcome could be modified by careful monitoring, management protocols, suction through the tube thoracostomy, and maybe an early intervention, such as thoracoscopy.
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Case Reports
Self-mutilation in patients after nerve injury may not be due to deafferentation pain: a case report.
Animals with transected nerves may develop self-mutilating behavior (autotomy) directed at the denervated body part. Autotomy is often thought to be a response to deafferentation pain produced by pathological changes in the dorsal horn, and self-mutilation after dorsal rhizotomy has consequently been used as an outcome measure for the investigation of chronic pain in animal models. A less recognized hypothesis suggests that autotomy is simply an animal's efforts to remove the useless part. We report a case of self-mutilation of the thumb and fingers in a patient with loss of all sensory modalities in the arm after brachial plexus avulsion. ⋯ Asking the patient about the reasons for his self-mutilation provides insights into the cause of autotomy which cannot be established from animal studies. We suggest that autotomy may not be a result of chronic pain, and discuss the human experience and alternative underlying pathological processes.