Injury
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Multicenter Study
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in traumatic brain injury - A retrospective, multicenter cohort study.
Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) regularly require intensive care with prolonged invasive ventilation. Consequently, these patients are at increased risk of pulmonary failure, potentially requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The aim of this work was to provide an overview of ECMO treatment in TBI patients based upon data captured into the TraumaRegister DGU® (TR-DGU). ⋯ ECMO therapy is a potentially lifesaving modality for the treatment of moderate-to-severe TBI when combined with severe chest trauma and pulmonary failure. The in-hospital mortality is increased in this high-risk population, but the majority of patients is surviving.
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Multicenter Study
Physical activity in young hip fracture patients is associated with health-related quality of life and strength; results from a multicenter study.
The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 150 min of moderate intensity exercise per week or 75 min of strenuous activity weekly for adults. Younger hip fracture patients are often assumed less active than the general population, however, knowledge on physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in younger hip fracture patients is limited. ⋯ We found that close to two-thirds of the patients had a pre-fracture PA level below WHO recommendations. Being more active was associated with better handgrip strength, HRQoL, and ASA score. Our findings indicate that individuals under 60 years who sustain a hip fracture form a heterogeneous group, some severely comorbid and others highly active and seemingly healthy. This suggests a more nuanced approach to rehabilitation, as the more active patient might need a more individualized plan than the standard program can offer.
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Intramedullary nailing using Kirschner wires in pediatric diaphyseal forearm fractures is often performed as a less invasive treatment than plate fixation, but it remains controversial whether the tips of Kirschner wires are buried or exposed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between whether the tips are buried or exposed and complications, especially of refracture. ⋯ Level Ⅲ, Multicenter retrospective study.
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Multicenter Study
A multicenter evaluation on the impact of non-therapeutic transfer in rural trauma.
Trauma transfers are a common occurrence in rural areas, where critical access and lower-level trauma centers routinely transfer to tertiary care centers for specialized care. Transfers are non-therapeutic (NTT) when no specialist intervention occurs, leading to transfer that were futile (FT) or secondary overtriage (SOT). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of NTT among four trauma centers providing care to rural Appalachia. ⋯ Non-therapeutic transfers account for more than 1/3 of transfers in this rural environment. There was a significant use of advanced life support and aeromedical transport. The utility of these transfers should be questioned. With the recent increases in telehealth there is an opportunity for trauma systems to improve regional care and decrease transfers for futile cases.
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Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is one of the most commonly used trauma scores and is a good predictor of outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. There are other more complex scores with additional physiological parameters. Whether they discriminate better than GCS in predicting mortality in TBI patients is debatable. The aim of this study was to compare the discrimination of GCS with that of MGAP, GAP, RTS and KTS for 24-hour and 30-day in-hospital mortality in adult TBI patients, in a resource limited LMIC setting. ⋯ This study shows that the discrimination of GCS is comparable to that of more complex trauma scores in predicting 24-hour and 30-day in-hospital mortality in adult TBI patients in a resource limited LMIC setting.