Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie
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To analyze experience at the McGill University Health Centre with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in trauma, complemented by a review of the literature to define its role globally and outline indications for its expanded use in trauma management. ⋯ Although CPB has traditionally been used in the setting of cardiac trauma alone, a better understanding of its potential benefit in noncardiac injuries will likely make for improved outcomes in the increasingly diverse number of severely injured patients seen in trauma centres today. Further studies by other trauma centres will allow for standardized indications for the use of CPB in trauma.
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Consensus regarding the use of thrombolysis to treat acute pulmonary embolism has not yet been reached. There is good evidence that thrombolytic agents dissolve clot more rapidly than heparin. ⋯ One evolving position is that, in addition to patients presenting in circulatory collapse, for whom thrombolysis has been demonstrated to be life-saving, a subgroup of patients may be identified by echocardiography, through its ability to assess right ventricular dysfunction, who should also be considered for thrombolytic therapy. It remains to be seen whether this approach can reduce the death rate associated with pulmonary embolism.
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Appropriate management of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represents a challenge for physicians working in the critical care environment. Significant advances have been made in understanding the pathophysiology of ARDS. There is also an increasing appreciation of the role of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). ⋯ Various lung protective strategies have been suggested to minimize the damage caused by conventional modes of ventilation. These include the use of pressure- and volume-limited ventilation, the use of the prone position in the management of ARDS, and extracorporeal methods of oxygen delivery and carbon dioxide removal. Although the death rate resulting from ARDS has been declining over the past 10 years, there is no evidence that any specific treatment or change in approach to ventilation is the cause of this improved survival.
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Hypothermia has profound effects on every system in the body, causing an overall slowing of enzymatic reactions and reduced metabolic requirements. Hypothermic, acutely injured patients with multisystem trauma have adverse outcomes when compared with normothermic control patients. Trauma patients are inherently predisposed to hypothermia from a variety of intrinsic and iatrogenic causes. ⋯ Severe hypothermia has allowed remarkable survivals in the course of accidental circulatory arrest. The selective application of mild hypothermia in severe traumatic brain injury is an area with promise. Deliberate circulatory arrest with hypothermic cerebral protection has also been used for seemingly unrepairable injuries and is the focus of ongoing research.
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Review Case Reports
Don't cry over spilled stones? Complications of gallstones spilled during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: case report and literature review.
The gallbladder is perforated and stones are spilled more frequently during laparoscopic cholecystectomy than during open cholecystectomy. Recent reports have implicated spilled gallstones as a source of infrequent but serious complications of laparoscopic of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. They can cause serious morbidity, and in most cases the patient will require open surgery for management of these complications. ⋯ Attempts at repairing gallbladder perforations are often unsatisfactory. A simple solution to this potential problem is to retrieve all stones immediately, place them in an intraperitoneal specimen bag, and "park" the bag on the liver. As soon as the gallbladder is dissected off the liver it should be placed in the specimen bag with the stones and removed through the umbilical port opening.