Injury
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Despite the high incidence of blunt thoracic trauma and frequently performed conservative treatment, studies on very long-term consequences for these patients remain sparse in current literature. In this study, we identify prevalence of long-term morbidity such as chronic chest pain, shortness of breath, and analyze the effect on overall quality of life and health-related quality of life. ⋯ Chronic pain and shortness of breath may be relatively common long after blunt thoracic trauma, and are of influence on quality of life and health-related quality of life in patients with conservatively treated blunt thoracic trauma.
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Current U.S./Canadian guidelines recommend hip fracture surgery within 48 h of injury to decrease morbidity/mortality. Multiple studies have identified medical optimization as the key component of time to surgery, but have inherent bias as patients with multiple co-morbidities often take longer to optimize. This study aimed to evaluate time from medical optimization to surgery (TMOS) to determine if "real surgical delay" is associated with: 1) mortality and 2) complications for geriatric hip fracture patients. ⋯ "Real surgical delay", or TMOS is not associated with increased complications or with inpatient mortality for geriatric hip fracture patients. With few exceptions, our institution adhered to the 48-hour time window from injury to hip surgery. We maintain the belief timely surgery following optimization plays a crucial role in the geriatric hip fracture patient outcomes.
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Mopeds and electric scooters have grown in popularity in recent years. A South Carolina (SC) law was passed on November 19, 2018, aimed to regulate mopeds and scooters. This study aims to evaluate whether this SC law was associated with a decrease in the moped injury rate in a Level 1 Trauma Center. ⋯ After the implementation of a SC law, we found that the local proportion of injuries due to moped and scooter accidents was significantly lower than pre-law proportions. These findings suggest that public policies aimed at increasing regulations for mopeds may decrease the rate of injury, but not severity, from moped use.
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The trochlea is of great importance for the stability of the elbow and its fixation in low transcondylar fractures of the distal humerus is especially challenging. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal trochlea fixation in double plate osteosynthesis of intraarticular distal humerus fractures. ⋯ not applicable (biomechanical).
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Staphylococcus aureus fracture-related infections (FRIs) are associated with significant morbidity in part because conventional antibiotic therapies have limited ability to eradicate S. aureus in sessile states. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using Staphylococcal bacteriophages for FRI by testing the activity of a library of Staphylococcal bacteriophage therapeutics against historically preserved S. aureus FRI clinical isolates. ⋯ Our findings show that Staphylococcal bacteriophage therapeutics are readily available for S. aureus FRI clinical isolates. However, when correlated with the current barriers to using bacteriophages to treat FRI, designated Staphylococcal bacteriophage cocktails with broad spectrum activity should be created.