J Trauma
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Hospitalization for observation is the current standard of practice for patients who have sustained blunt abdominal trauma and who do not require emergent operation, despite having undergone diagnostic studies that exclude the presence of an intra-abdominal injury. The reasons for this practice are multifactorial and include the perceived false-negative rate of all standard diagnostic tests, the belief that hospitalization will allow for the prompt diagnosis of occult injuries, and medicolegal considerations about the risk of early discharge. The focus of this study was to determine whether hospitalization for observation is necessary after a negative diagnostic evaluation after blunt abdominal trauma, to determine the negative predictive value of abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scanning in a prospective series of patients, and to identify which patients can be safely released from the emergency department without observation or hospitalization after blunt abdominal trauma. ⋯ These data indicate that abdominal tenderness is not predictive of an abdominal injury and that patients with a negative CT scan after suspected blunt abdominal trauma do not benefit from hospital admission and prolonged observation.
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Although hemorrhage or trauma (laparotomy) alone in mice produces a marked immunosuppression for 3 to 4 days and trauma plus hemorrhage produces immune depression for 5 days after resuscitation, it remains unknown when the immune functions return to normal after trauma-hemorrhage and whether lymphocyte and macrophage functions are similarly affected by trauma-hemorrhage. ⋯ The results indicate that a more severe and prolonged immunodepression occurs after combined trauma and hemorrhage than after trauma or hemorrhage alone.
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In the injured patient, rapid assessment of the thorax can yield critical information for patient management and triage. ⋯ Surgeons can accurately perform and interpret a focused thoracic ultrasonographic examination to detect traumatic effusion. Surgeon-performed thoracic ultrasonography is as accurate but is significantly faster than supine portable chest radiography for the detection of traumatic effusion.
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Case Reports
Endovascular treatment of intractable oronasal bleeding associated with severe craniofacial injury.
Severe craniofacial injury may cause intractable oronasal bleeding, which is refractory to conventional treatments. This study will evaluate the efficacy of endovascular treatment for such oronasal bleeding. ⋯ Endovascular treatment is an acceptable treatment for intractable oronasal bleeding associated with severe craniofacial injuries when conventional treatments have failed.