Injury
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Thoracic trauma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children exposed to blast and early recognition of these injuries is vital. While numerous studies have investigated the sensitivity of chest X-ray (CXR) for the detection of chest injury in blunt trauma, none have evaluated its performance in paediatric blast injury. ⋯ CXR has a poor sensitivity for the identification of significant thoracic injury in children exposed to blast. We argue that, given the challenge of clinical assessment of injured children and the potential for serious adverse consequences of missed thoracic injuries, there should be a low threshold for the use of CT chest in the evaluation of children exposed to blast.
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We report results of a newly developed portable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) based point-of-care device CEREBO® to detect traumatic intracranial hematoma (TICH). ⋯ The performance of currently tested NIRS device for detection of TICH was good and can be considered for triaging a patient requiring a CT scan of the head after injury. The NIRS device can efficiently detect traumatic unilateral hematomas as well as those bilateral hematomas where the volumetric difference is greater than 2cc.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of early venous thromboembolism (VTE) chemoprophylaxis following blunt solid organ injury. ⋯ Stable hemoglobin in the first 24 h is an efficacious, objective measure that allows early initiation of VTE chemoprophylaxis in solid organ injury. This practice is associated with earlier initiation of and fewer VTE events.
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The growing popularity of virtual reality devices and increasingly widespread distribution of VR products into the home exposes users to risk of bodily harm. Safety features are integrated into the devices themselves, but the burden of cautious use rests upon the end user. The purpose of this study is to quantify and describe the array of injuries and demographics effected by the burgeoning VR industry to inform and encourage mitigation strategies. ⋯ This is the first study to describe the incidence, demographics and characteristics of injuries from VR device use. Sales of home VR units continue to increase annually and the rapid increase in VR consumer injuries is being managed by emergency departments across the country. An understanding of these injuries will inform VR manufacturers, application developers, and users to promote safe product development and operation.
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Post-discharge readmission rates using modified Trauma-Specific Frailty Index (mTSFI) compared to the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) are unknown. In our pilot study, we demonstrated that mTSFI usage more accurately triages older trauma patients. In the current study, we hypothesized that adult trauma patients triaged using mTSFI would have lower readmission rates at the 30-day interval post discharge. ⋯ Utilization of mTSFI for adult trauma patients may lead to lower 30-day readmission rates compared to using ESI, despite our sample sizes being too small to demonstrate a statistically significant difference.