European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Apr 2019
Trauma care in German-speaking countries: have changes in the curricula led to changes in practice after 10 years?
Traditionally, in the German-speaking countries, trauma patients are treated by general surgeons specialized in trauma surgery known as the Unfallchirurg. Over the last decade, a trend towards a lower influence of surgeons and a higher influence of subspecialties in the emergency department has been noted. With additional transformations in the health care system towards highly specialized medicine and the arising of new (sub-) specialties, diversification in the management of the trauma patient appears to occur. The new curricula for surgical disciplines providing trauma care will widen this issue even further, moreover, triggered by the Anglo-American medical model. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the current situation in German-speaking countries concerning the management of trauma patients. The interfaces between emergency physicians, orthopaedic and general surgeons have been investigated concerning the management of the trauma patients. Additionally, different future scenarios have been evaluated. ⋯ Despite the growing importance of emergency physicians, separated in the emergency room between surgical and internal medicine fields, in the acute care of surgical patients in the emergency departments, their role in the management of the polytraumatized patients remains limited. More than 13 years after the new curricula for orthopaedic and general surgery have been implemented in Germany, fracture care is still predominantly provided by general surgeons specialized in trauma surgery. In conclusion, it seems that the general surgeon specialized in trauma surgery still plays and wants to play the key role in the management of the polytrauma patient and fracture care in German-speaking countries.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Apr 2019
Effects of the establishment of a trauma center and a new protocol on patients with hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures at a single institution in Korea.
The aim of this study was to determine whether the outcomes of patients with hemodynamically unstable pelvic bone fractures changed after the introduction of a protocol including extraperitoneal pelvic packing (EPP) and the establishment of a trauma center. ⋯ The establishment of a trauma center and the implementation of a new protocol that included EPP were effective in the treatment of patients with hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Apr 2019
Accidental hypothermia as an independent risk factor of poor neurological outcome in older multiply injured patients with severe traumatic brain injury: a matched pair analysis.
Patients with multiple injuries are particularly susceptible to accidental hypothermia which is correlated with an increased risk of post-traumatic complications and mortality; however, its impact on neurological outcome in cases where there is concomitant traumatic brain injury is underexplored. ⋯ Accidental hypothermia seems to have a negative impact on neurological recovery in older patients with multiple injuries including traumatic brain injury which outweighs potential benefits.