Eur J Trauma Emerg S
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A case of femoral neck fracture is reported after electrical shock injury with 300 V direct current in a 41-year old male. He had two small full thickness burns on his left heel, probably the exit wounds. ⋯ Surgeons caring for patients with electrical injury should be aware of the possibility of skeletal injuries. Without vigilance for these injuries, delay in diagnosis may occur.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Oct 2010
Biomechanical rationale and evaluation of an implant system for rib fracture fixation.
Biomechanical research directed at developing customized implant solutions for rib fracture fixation is essential to reduce the complexity and to increase the reliability of rib osteosynthesis. Without a simple and reliable implant solution, surgical stabilization of rib fractures will remain underutilized despite proven benefits for select indications. This article summarizes the research, development, and testing of a specialized and comprehensive implant solution for rib fracture fixation. ⋯ The anatomic plate set can simplify rib fracture fixation by minimizing the need for plate contouring. Intramedullary fixation with rib splints provides a less-invasive fixation alternative for posterior rib fracture, where access for plating is limited. The combination of anatomic plates and intramedullary splints provides a comprehensive system to manage the wide range of fractures encountered in flail chest injuries.
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There has been difficulty in the appropriate determination of blunt cardiac injury (BCI) related to blunt thoracic trauma (BTT). The aim of this study is to assess BCI and the effectiveness of diagnostic tests in BTT in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Indicators such as cardiac enzymes and ECG have low sensitivity and specificity when used alone. The reliability of ECG in the diagnosis of BCI decreases in the later hours of trauma.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Oct 2010
Emergency decompressive craniectomy for trauma patients with Glasgow Coma Scale of 3 and bilateral fixed dilated pupils.
Trauma patients with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 3 and bilateral fixed dilated pupils (BFDP) usually have dismal outcome, and neurosurgeons are less likely to treat such patients aggressively. In this work, the authors assessed whether emergency decompressive craniectomy (EDC) can change the poor outcome of these patients. ⋯ Despite control of ICP following emergency decompressive craniectomy in patients with severe TBI, GCS of 3, and BFDP, this did not change the dismal outcome of these patients; on the contrary, it may increase the suffering for patients and their families and add unnecessary medical burden. We propose that these patients have irreversible severe brain insult.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg S · Oct 2010
The impact of trauma mechanism on outcome: a follow-up study on health-related quality of life after major trauma.
To relate the trauma mechanism in a trauma population to health-related quality of life outcomes and mortality rates. ⋯ Even though the follow-up rate was only 53%, this study showed that, at 12 months, patients with self-inflicted injuries had significantly lower HRQoL ratings. There was no difference in mortality with regard to trauma mechanism. Cooperation between emergency service and psychiatric care early in the acute phase could provide a golden opportunity to reach this patient group.