The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2014
Epidural placement does not result in an increased incidence of venous thromboembolism in combat-wounded patients.
Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) decreases the amount of systemic opioid required for adequate analgesia and decreases the rate of opioid-induced adverse effects. Given the location of catheters required to deliver analgesics and the potential for epidural hematoma, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine recommends modification of the standard trauma venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis regimen of enoxaparin 30 mg twice daily to 40 mg daily. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine if 40-mg daily dosing would increase the incidence of VTE. ⋯ Therapeutic study, level IV.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2014
Inferior vena cava size is not associated with shock following injury.
The inferior vena cava (IVC) collapses with shock but may also be collapsed in volume-depleted patients in the absence of shock. The speed and availability of computed tomography (CT) make IVC measurement an attractive diagnostic modality for shock. The purpose of this study was to determine if IVC size following injury is associated with shock. ⋯ Diagnostic test, level III.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2014
Gender disparity in ventilator-associated pneumonia following trauma: identifying risk factors for mortality.
Gender alone offers no survival advantage in humans following trauma. However, male gender does predict increased morbidity, specifically ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Previous work has shown that despite lower incidence of VAP, females with VAP have increased mortality. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the impact of VAP and gender on outcome and to determine which characteristics of severe VAP predict mortality in trauma patients. ⋯ Epidemiologic/prognostic study, level III.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2014
Lean methodology for performance improvement in the trauma discharge process.
High-volume, complex services such as trauma and acute care surgery are at risk for inefficiency. Lean process improvement can reduce health care waste. Lean allows a structured look at processes not easily amenable to analysis. We applied lean methodology to the current state of communication and discharge planning on an urban trauma service, citing areas for improvement. ⋯ Lean process improvement is a viable means of health care analysis. When applied to a trauma service with 4,000 admissions annually, lean identifies areas ripe for improvement. Our inefficiencies surrounded communication and patient localization. Strategies arising from the input of all stakeholders led to real solutions for communication through a face-to-face morning report and identified areas for ongoing improvement. This focuses resource use and identifies areas for improvement of throughput in care delivery.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2014
"Permissive hypoventilation" in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock.
Many penetrating trauma patients in severe hemorrhagic shock receive positive pressure ventilation (PPV) upon transport to definitive care, either by intubation (INT) or bag-valve mask (BVM). Using a swine hemorrhagic shock model that simulates penetrating trauma, we proposed that severely injured patients may have better outcomes with "permissive hypoventilation," where manual breaths are not given and oxygen is administrated passively via face mask (FM). We hypothesized that PPV has harmful physiologic effects in severe low-flow states and that permissive hypoventilation would result in better outcomes. ⋯ Although permissive hypoventilation leads to respiratory acidosis, it results in less hemodynamic suppression and better perfusion of vital organs. In severely injured penetrating trauma patients, consideration should be given to immediate transportation without PPV.