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Review Historical Article
Contemporary history of spine fractures following deck-slap injury: from deck blast during World War II naval battles to axial trauma during touristic speedboat sea cruise in 21st century.
In large-scale naval battles during World War II, sailors sometimes sustained serious lower limb injuries when explosion blast of sea mines was transmitted from underneath through the metal deck of the ships. Some of these sailors were thrown in the air due to the blast and sustained axial trauma of the spine when they landed on the hard deck, which was thus called a deck slap by Captain Joseph Barr in 1946, among others. ⋯ When the craft unexpectedly crosses the wake of another ship, tourists are thrown a few feet in the air before suffering a hard landing on their buttocks. This historical vignette is presented as a preventive message to help to reduce this poorly known yet avoidable "summer wave of vertebral fractures."
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Poisoning is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adolescents. Pharmaceutical and household products are responsible for the majority of cases. ⋯ Few unintentional ingestions in the paediatric group result in serious toxicity. Mortality is rare. There is increasing intentional poisoning and alcohol abuse in adolescents. Poison prevention should be part of all well child visits. Agencies catering for children should carry educational leaflets for parents on how to 'poison proof' a child's environment, as the majority of incidents occur at home.
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Critical care medicine · May 2007
Calculation of intratracheal airway pressure in ventilated neonatal piglets with endotracheal tube leaks.
In ventilated neonates, only the applied pressure of the ventilator is adjusted and monitored. When an endotracheal tube leaks, intratracheal pressure decreases depending on the size of the endotracheal tube and of the leak. Furthermore, an increase in resistance and/or compliance might delay the increase of intratracheal pressure during inspiration and its decline during expiration. Short inspiratory time can cause insufficient ventilation, because intratracheal pressure peak might not be reached. Short expiratory time may lead to air trapping, because intratracheal pressure could not return to baseline. The aim of this study was to develop a mathematical algorithm to calculate intratracheal pressure continuously during ventilation and to evaluate the accuracy of this method. ⋯ The accuracy of the calculation of intratracheal pressure ensures adequate monitoring of artificial ventilation, even in the presence of endotracheal tube leaks. This might decrease the risk of barotrauma and improve the effectiveness of ventilation.