The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyMulticenter review of diaphragm pacing in spinal cord injury: successful not only in weaning from ventilators but also in bridging to independent respiration.
Ventilator-dependent spinal cord-injured (SCI) patients require significant resources related to ventilator dependence. Diaphragm pacing (DP) has been shown to successfully replace mechanical ventilators for chronic ventilator-dependent tetraplegics. Early use of DP following SCI has not been described. Here, we report our multicenter review experience with the use of DP in the initial hospitalization after SCI. ⋯ Therapeutic study, level V.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyGunshot wounds and blast injuries to the face are associated with significant morbidity and mortality: results of an 11-year multi-institutional study of 720 patients.
Gunshot wounds and blast injuries to the face (GSWBIFs) produce complex wounds requiring management by multiple surgical specialties. Previous work is limited to single institution reports with little information on processes of care or outcome. We sought to determine those factors associated with hospital complications and mortality. ⋯ Therapeutic/care management, level III.