The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2017
Relative device stability of anterior versus axillary needle decompression for tension pneumothorax during casualty movement: Preliminary analysis of a human cadaver model.
Tension pneumothorax (tPTX) remains a significant cause of potentially preventable death in military and civilian settings. The current prehospital standard of care for tPTX is immediate decompression with a 14-gauge 8-cm angiocatheter; however, failure rates may be as high as 17% to 60%. Alternative devices, such as 10-gauge angiocatheter, modified Veress needle, and laparoscopic trocar, have shown to be potentially more effective in animal models; however, little is known about the relative insertional safety or mechanical stability during casualty movement. ⋯ Therapeutic study, level III.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2017
Platelet and coagulation function before and after burn and smoke inhalation injury in sheep.
Smoke inhalation and burn injury remain a major source of morbidity and mortality. There is known dysregulation of hemostasis in burn patients, but either hypercoagulation or hypocoagulation states are reported. Sheep are an established animal model for studying burn pathology and provide robust data on hemostatic function at baseline and after injury. ⋯ Coagulation parameters and hemostasis are dysregulated in sheep after smoke inhalation and burn. By 24 hours, sheep were hypocoagulable and subsequently became hypercoagulable by day 4. These results suggest a three-stage coagulopathy in burn injuries with a known early consumptive hypercoagulable state which is followed by a relatively hypocoagulable state with increased bleeding risk and then a return to a relatively unknown hypercoagulability with increased susceptibility to thrombotic disorders.
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Optimal fluid resuscitation of burn patients with burns greater than 20% total body surface area is critical to prevent burn shock during the initial 24 hours to 48 hours postburn. Currently, most resuscitation formulas incorporate the patient's weight when estimating 24-hour fluid requirements. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of weight on fluid resuscitation requirements and outcomes during the initial 24 hours after admission. ⋯ Therapeutic/care management, level IV.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2017
Early unplanned trauma readmissions in a safety net hospital are resource intensive but not due to resource limitations.
In an era of decreasing reimbursements, the incentive to decrease readmissions has never been greater. It has been suggested that trauma readmission is an indicator of poor hospital care or fragmented discharge. Even though trauma readmissions are relatively low, readmissions add significant cost, tie up already limited resources and lead to worse outcomes, including mortality. The literature on trauma readmissions is sparse, and the reasons and risk factors for readmission are inconsistent across studies. If readmissions are to serve as useful indicators of quality of care, we must elucidate factors that may predict readmissions. ⋯ Care management, level IV; Epidemiologic, level IV.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jul 2017
Computed tomography evidence of fluid in the hernia sac predicts surgical site infection following mesh repair of acutely incarcerated ventral and groin hernias.
Mesh placement during repair of acutely incarcerated ventral and groin hernias is associated with high rates of surgical site infection (SSI). The utility of preoperative computed tomography (CT) in this setting is unclear. We hypothesized that CT evidence of bowel wall compromise would predict SSI while accounting for physiologic parameters. ⋯ Prognostic study, level III; Therapeutic, level IV.