Articles: trauma.
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Although clinical outcomes of peripheral nerve injuries are often suboptimal, an adherence to well-established basic principles of evaluation and repair can optimize results of even the most complex injuries. Proper assessment of injury patterns both preoperatively and intraoperatively can guide treatment, and multiple repair techniques including strategies for overcoming both small and large gaps offer different advantages and disadvantages. New technologies and ideas address some unsolved problems, but more experience and research is necessary to elucidate fully their roles in the treatment algorithm.
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Trauma patients are at exceedingly high risk of development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE). The epidemiology of VTE in trauma patients is reviewed. PE is thought to be the third major cause of death after trauma in those patients who survive longer than 24 hours after onset of injury. ⋯ Unfortunately, two sets of guidelines are available for insertion of filters in trauma patients, with conflicting recommendations. The introduction of retrievable IVC filters seems to offer a unique solution for VTE protection in the trauma patient population, which often consists of younger members of our population. Lastly, current generations of FDA-approved retrieval filters are discussed.
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Trauma is major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) programme teaches a standardised method for the initial assessment and management of trauma patients, and has been adopted by more than 50 countries worldwide. ⋯ Our study demonstrated the positive influence of completion of an ATLS-type programme on the score obtained on the trauma management quiz. Although previous work has demonstrated mixed results concerning improvement in the care of trauma patients following completion of an ATLS programme, we recommend that such programmes be integrated into the training of Indian ED MOs and suggest that ATLS should be viewed as an integral part of medical training.
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The decision in favor of surgery or nonoperative conservative treatment in blunt and penetrating abdominal trauma requires a precise diagnosis that is not always possible with imaging techniques, whereby there is great danger that an injury to the diaphragm or intestines may be overlooked. To avoid such oversights, indications for exploratory laparotomy have traditionally been generous, to the extent that up to 41% of exploratory laparotomies turn out to be nontherapeutic and could be, or could have been, avoided with laparoscopy. ⋯ Laparoscopy can be performed safely and effectively in stable patients with abdominal trauma. The most important advantages are reduction of the nontherapeutic laparotomy rate, morbidity, shortening of hospitalization, and cost-effectiveness. In the future, new developments in and the miniaturization of equipment can be expected to increase the use of minimally invasive techniques in abdominal trauma cases.