Injury
-
The purpose of this study is to report the data for patients followed-up in our intensive care unit due to the 6th February 2023, earthquake in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, and to investigate parameters affecting mortality. ⋯ Not only increased SOFA, serum potassium, serum phosphorus, and serum magnesium, but also decreased bicarbonate, and base deficit were associated with mortality in earthquake victims with crush syndrome in ICU.
-
Early treatment of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a cornerstone of the therapy in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Treatment of refractory high ICP however, remain challenging as only limited and risky third-tier therapeutic interventions are available. Controlled lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage has been known as an efficient method of ICP reduction after TBI for decades, but it is not recommended in international guidelines because of low evidence background and safety issues. Our centre has a long-standing experience using this intervention for more than 15 years. Here we present our data about the safety and efficacy of controlled lumbar drainage to avoid further second- and third tier ICP lowering therapies and beneficially influence functional outcome. ⋯ Our results support the view that controlled lumbar drainage is a highly efficient method to manage intracranial hypertension and significantly decreases the need of further harmful ICP lowering therapies without altering functional outcome of severe TBI patients.
-
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) commonly presents after distal radius fractures. Assessing its degree of severity is essential to therapeutic decision-making - i.e. operative vs. conservative treatment. The role of the two-point discrimination (2PD) has not yet been evaluated as a potential indicator of severity during physical examination. Therefore, in our cross-sectional study, we aimed to find a correlation between 2PD values and disease severity, based on the gold-standard electromyography and electroneurography (EMG-ENG) and ultrasonography findings. ⋯ There is a significant correlation between 2PD values and the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome as determined by EMG-ENG; however, they are not interchangeable. Based on the results of our study, we propose that measuring two-point discrimination may be a quick and easy, reliable and cost-effective screening method to assess the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome following distal radius fractures.
-
Hypernatremia is a common problem among patients with severe burn injuries and seems to be associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome. The current study was designed to evaluate the impact of antibiotics with a high proportion of sodium on this phenomenon. ⋯ The amount of sodium in antibiotics seems to have a relevant impact on the serum Na during the early stages of severe burn injury. Therefore, this aspect should be taken into account when searching for the most appropriate antibiotic treatment for patients with severe burn injury, especially when being at acute risk for a clinical relevant hypernatremia.
-
Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) is increasingly performed, however the outcome of patients undergoing SSRF while on pre-injury antithrombotic therapy remains unknown. We compared surgical variables and outcomes of patients who were and were not on antithrombotic therapy. We hypothesize pre-injury anticoagulation is associated with delay in SSRF and worse outcomes. ⋯ Therapeutic/care management.