Injury
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Following the invasion of Iraq in April 2003, British and coalition forces have been conducting counter-insurgency operations in the country. As this conflict has evolved from asymmetric warfare, the mechanism and spectrum of injury sustained through hostile action (HA) was investigated. ⋯ Injuries in conflict produce a pattern of injury that is not seen in routine UK surgical practice. In an era of increasing surgical sub-specialisation, the deployed surgeon needs to acquire and maintain a wide range of skills from a variety of surgical specialties. IEDs have become the modus operandi for terrorists. In the current global security situation, these tactics can be equally employed against civilian targets. Therefore, knowledge and training in the management of these injuries is relevant to both military and civilian surgeons.
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Multicenter Study
The epidemiological analyses of trauma patients in Chongqing teaching hospitals following the Wenchuan earthquake.
Well-equipped comprehensive hospitals may provide better emergency and patient services for the recovery of injured patients from the earthquake zone. This study aimed to provide an overview of injuries among the patients admitted to the six teaching hospitals in Chongqing, China, after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. ⋯ For emergency conditions after a catastrophe, comprehensive hospitals must be prepared to meet the massive numbers of severely injured patients. Trauma patients from delayed rescue and admission should be given broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as cephalosporin and macrolide antibiotics. The selection of antibiotics in the combination therapy, as described in this study, may greatly enhance the effectiveness of early specific treatments and prevent severe trauma complications in future natural disasters.
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Due to improved surgical techniques and more efficient decision making in treating severely injured patients, survival rates have increased over the years. This study was initiated to evaluate the incidence and identify risk factors for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms, using both extensive trauma-related data and data assessing the psychological trauma, in a population of severely injured patients. ⋯ We found a low incidence of PTSD and subsyndromal PTSD. No significant differences were found between the patients suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms and the non-symptoms group in relation to injury-related data such as ISS/NISS, PS, or multiple trauma versus spinal cord injury. The most evident risk factors for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms were symptoms of anxiety, female gender and negative attitudes toward emotional expression.
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To establish whether total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for ventilated trauma victims is associated with late-onset acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) independent of ventilation and transfusion parameters. ⋯ TPN administration is independently associated with late ARDS, and its use among critically ill trauma victims should be carefully scrutinised.
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This experimental setting was undertaken to elucidate and confirm the role of inflammatory and oxidant-antioxidant mechanisms on blunt injury induced moderate pulmonary contusion (PC). We intended to determine the effects of dexamethasone (DXM), N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and aprotinin (APR) in terms of their ability to diminish the consequences of acute lung injury due to PC. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that moderate bilateral PC induced by blunt chest trauma leads to an early inflammatory process which is clearly associated with activation of the oxidant-antioxidant cascade. On this basis, early supportive treatment with DXM, NAC and APR may yield favourable results on pulmonary pathophysiological parameters which are adversely affected due to PC.