Articles: trauma.
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The Phillips Report on traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Ireland found that injury was more frequent in men and that gender differences were present in childhood. This study determined when gender differences emerge and examined the effect of gender on the mechanism of injury, injury type and severity and outcome. ⋯ Falls were responsible for most TBI, the home is the most common place of injury and non-operable TBI was common. These findings relate to all children. Significant gender differences exist from infancy. Boys sustained injuries associated with a greater energy transfer, were less likely to use protective devices and more likely to be injured deliberately. This results in a different pattern of injury, higher levels of associated injury and a higher mortality rate.
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Watercraft-associated trauma (WAT) in children has received little attention so far, despite the potentially severe and debilitating resulting injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate all cases of major watercraft-associated trauma admitted to the Children's of Alabama during the past 10 years, identify patterns in mechanism and injury, and propose future prevention strategies. ⋯ Pediatric watercraft-related accidents are infrequent, but often result in major injuries. More awareness for safety measures to prevent these injuries is warranted. Alcohol is not a major factor in pediatric watercraft-associated trauma. Tubes towed by a boat seem to be particularly dangerous, perhaps because of the rider's limited maneuverability and the fact that centrifugal force lets the tube travel well outside the wake in curves. Limiting boat speed and the use of protective gear on towed tubes when children are involved may decrease the incidence and severity of pediatric WAT.
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The Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET) course was developed to address limited experience of residents and practicing surgeons (PS) in rapid exposure of major blood vessels for trauma. This one day, case based, scenario driven, fresh cadaver dissection course emphasizes rapid surgical exposure of the vasculature of the neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis and extremities with additional focus on fasciotomies and pelvic packing. Contained herein are the results of the first 25 courses. ⋯ The ASSET course was well received and significantly improved self-reported confidence in the exposures needed to care for trauma in both surgical trainees and PS. Ongoing experience with this course will enable more comprehensive psychometric analysis and further validation of this curriculum.
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Although mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to contribute to the development of post-traumatic organ failure, current techniques to assess mitochondrial function in tissues are invasive and clinically impractical. We hypothesized that mitochondrial function in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) would reflect cellular respiration in other organs during hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (HS&R). ⋯ All tissues including PBMC's demonstrated significant mitochondrial dysfunction following HS&R. Although PBMC and kidney mitochondrial function correlated well during hemorrhagic shock, the variability in mitochondrial response across tissues over the spectrum of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation limits the usefulness of using PBMC's as a proxy for tissue-specific cellular respiration.