Management and outcome of open pelvic fractures: a retrospective study of 41 cases

Background

Open pelvic fractures occur uncommonly. Despite serious sequelae, they have been infrequently reviewed.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of all patients with open pelvic fractures in our department from January 2001 to April 2010.

Results

Forty-one patients (32 men, 9 women) with these injuries were identified. The average Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 31.4, with 80% of patients having a score ≥16. The average blood transfusion in the first 24 h was 17.2 units, and the average hospital stay was 60 days. Overall mortality was 24%(n = 10): 3 early deaths and 7 late deaths. Factors associated with overall mortality by univariate analysis were ISS, RTS, GCS, age, pelvic sepsis, Gustilo classification of soft-tissue injury, and Young classification of bony fracture. Factors associated with late mortality by univariate analysis were: ISS, RTS, pelvic sepsis, Gustilo classification of soft-tissue injury, and blood transfusion in the first 24 h. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that only RTS was independently associated with both overall and late mortality.

Conclusion

Despite treatment advances, mortality rates remain high in patients with open pelvic fractures. The urogenital and/or intra-abdominal injuries are not associated with mortality. RTS ≤ 8 might be a predictor of poor outcome in open pelvic fractures patients. Open reduction and internal fixation might be used in those unstable pelvic fractures without gross contamination in the fracture region after extensive cleansing and lavage. More emphasis needs to be placed on this injury complex.     

The role of associated injuries on outcome of blunt trauma patients sustaining pelvic fractures

In order to identify the prognostic factors and to evaluate the impact of associated injuries in the outcome of patients with pelvic fractures, a retrospective review of the medical records of patients admitted with a pelvic fracture during a 42-month period was carried out. Demographic data, the mechanism of injury, the physiologic status on admission, associated injuries, pelvic fracture classification, complications and mortality were analysed. One hundred and three patients were included in the study. Fifty-nine were male, and the mean age was 34. The mean Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were 7.1 and 20, respectively. Pedestrian vs vehicle (59%), was the most frequent mechanism of injury. Twenty patients died (19%) most frequently due to "shock". Complications developed in 37 patients (36%), pneumonia being the most frequent. Age greater than 40 years (p=0.02), "shock" upon admission (p=0.002), a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)<9, Head AIS>2 (p<0. 001), Chest AIS>2 (p=0.007), and abdominal AIS>2 (p=0.03) all correlated with increased mortality. No correlation between pelvic fracture classification or fracture stability with mortality was observed. The outcome of patients with pelvic fractures due to blunt trauma correlates with the severity of associated injuries and physiological derangement on admission rather than with characteristics of or the type of fracture.     

Does skeletal maturity affect pediatric pelvic injury patterns,associated injuries and treatment intervention?

IntroductionPediatric pelvic injuries are rare. Due to anatomic differences of the immature pelvis, different injury patterns may occur as compared to adults. The purpose was to analyze the effect of skeletal maturity on pediatric pelvic injury pattern, associated injuries, and treatment intervention.Patients and MethodsNinety children with a pelvic injury receiving treatment at a private orthopaedic practice in association with a Level One Teaching Trauma Center, between March 2002 and June 2011, were retrospectively analyzed. Skeletal maturity was determined as closed triradiate cartilage. Forty-one (46%) were skeletally immature and 49 (54%) were skeletally mature. Mean age was 11.5 years (2–16). Fractures were 23 A2, 1 A3, 4 B1, 44 B2, 16 B3, and 2 C2 according to OTA/AO classification. OTA B and C fractures were 26 LC1 (lateral-compression), 20 LC2, 10 LC3, 4 APC1 (anterior-posterior-compression), 5 APC2, and 1 VS (vertical-shear) injury according to Young and Burgess. Treatment of the pelvic injury was operative in 28 (31%) and non-operative in 62 (69%) of children. Mechanism of injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), deaths, and associated injuries were recorded.ResultsMore complex and unstable injuries occurred in skeletally mature vs. immature children (p = 0.014). Skeletally mature children had a significantly higher rate of operative intervention (p = 0.009). The ISS in skeletally mature children was higher 25 (1–66) than in skeletally immature children 17 (4–43) (p = 0.013). 84% (41) skeletally mature and 78% (32) skeletally immature children sustained associated injuries. Twenty-two% (11) of all skeletally mature children sustained urinary tract injuries, but only 7% (3) of all skeletally immature children (p = 0.049).DiscussionSkeletally mature children are more likely to sustain more complex injury patterns with a higher rate of operative treatment, to have a higher rate of associated injuries, and to have a higher ISS than immature patients.Level of EvidenceRetrospective comparative study, Level III.     

伴直肠肛管损伤的开放性骨盆骨折的早期急救处理策略及死亡危险因素分析

目的 探讨伴有直肠、肛管损伤的开放性骨盆骨折的早期急救处理策略及死亡危险因素.方法 回顾性分析2001年4月至2010年4月两家医院救治的25例伴有直肠、肛管损伤的开放性骨盆骨折患者,男23例,女2例;年龄16～56岁,平均(30.1±10.9)岁.采用Fisher精确概率法及多因素Logistic回归分析法对可能的死亡危险因素进行统计学分析.结果 19例存活,6例死亡,死亡率为24%.经Fisher精确概率法分析显示:骨盆骨折Tile分型、创伤严重程度评分(injury severity score,ISS)、格拉斯哥昏迷评分(glasgow coma score,GCS)及改良创伤评分(revised trauma score,RTS)是此类损伤的死亡危险因素.当Tile分型为C型、ISS≥25分、GCS≤8分或RTS≤8分时,患者的死亡概率较大.对此4个危险因素进行多因素Logistic回归分析后发现,RTS≤8分是此类损伤的独立危险因素.结论 积极稳定血流动力学,创口彻底清创引流,早期结肠造瘘以及骨盆固定是此类损伤早期急救处理的关键.RTS是否≤8分可作为判断患者死亡概率的可靠指标.     

Early predictors of mortality in hemodynamically unstable pelvis fractures

OBJECTIVES: To determine reliable, early indicators of mortality and causes of death in hemodynamically unstable patients with pelvic ring injuries. DESIGN: This was a retrospective review of a prospective pelvic database. METHODS: In all, 187 hemodynamically unstable patients with pelvic fractures (persistent systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg after receiving 2 L of intravenous crystalloid) admitted from April 1998 to November 2004 were included. Intervention was Level 1 Trauma Center-Pelvis Fracture standardized protocol. Main outcome measurements were: Injury Severity Score (ISS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), age, blood transfusion, mortality, and multisystem organ failure (MOF). RESULTS: Group 1 (39 patients) did not survive their injury. Group 2 (148 patients) survived their injury. Fracture pattern (chi(2) = 9.1, P = 0.33), and treatment with angiography/embolization (chi(2) = 0.054, P = 0.84) were not predictive of death. Patients requiring more blood had a statistically significant higher mortality rate. The ISS (t = -5.62, P < 0.001), RTS (t = 6.10, P < 0.001), age >60 years old (chi(2) = 5.4, P = 0.03), and transfusion (t = -2.70, P = 0.010) were statistically significant independent predictors of mortality. A logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves indicated that of these variables, RTS was the most predictive independent variable. However, a model including all four variables was superior at predicting mortality. Most deaths were attributed to exsanguination (74.4%) or MOF (17.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Predictors of mortality in pelvis fracture patients should be available early in the course of treatment in order to be useful. Death within 24 hours was most often a result of acute blood loss while death after 24 hours was most often caused by MOF. Improved survival will depend upon the evolution of early hemorrhage control and resuscitative strategies in patients at high mortality risk.     

High-energy trauma patients with pelvic fractures: Management trends in Ontario,Canada

IntroductionAlthough fractures of the pelvic ring account for only 2–3% of all fractures, they are present in approximately 7–20% of patients with high-energy polytrauma. High-energy pelvic fractures are life-threatening injuries, with mortality estimates ranging from 6 to 35%. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and mortality rates of high-energy pelvic fractures in Ontario, Canada over a 10-year period.MethodsA cohort of 3915 patients who sustained a high-energy pelvic fracture in Ontario between 01 April 2005 and 31 March 2015 was identified using the Ontario Trauma Registry and administrative healthcare data linked by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science (ICES). Severely injured patients (defined as having an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of ≥16) with pelvic fractures following high-velocity mechanisms of injury were identified using applicable ICD-10 codes. Trends were assessed statistically using the Poisson and the Cochrane-Armitage tests for trend. Modified Poisson regression was used to model the adjusted risk ratio of mortality by pelvic fracture treatment.ResultsThe incidence of pelvic fracture remained constant at approximately 4.6 cases per 100,000 population annually between 2005 and 2011. From 2012, there was a decrease in patients with ISS ≥ 16 due to changes in the calculation of the ISS. The proportion of patients presenting with ISS > 50 increased from 8.2% to 14.1% (p = 0.008) over the study period. Automobile collisions or pedestrians struck by vehicles accounted for over half of injuries. Approximately 6% of patients underwent angioembolisation. Treatment with external fixation (15.5%–20.2%) or no surgical intervention (46.2%–61.3%) increased from 2005 to 2015. Mortality remained constant (11% at 30 days), and laparotomy was the only major intervention not associated with decreased risk of death.ConclusionsStable mortality despite increasing injury severity suggests that the quality of care provided to patients with high-energy pelvic fractures has improved over time. However, unchanged incidence suggests the need for ongoing efforts aimed towards injury prevention. ISS at presentation was the most significant predictor of mortality in this patient population.     

Associated injuries and not fracture instability predict mortality in pelvic fractures: a prospective study of 100 patients

BACKGROUND: Whether pelvic fracture instability is correlated to mortality in blunt multiply-injured trauma patients is debatable. This is the first prospective study on patients with pelvic fractures aiming at finding whether pelvic fracture type affects mortality. METHODS: There were 100 consecutive patients (77 males, mean age of 31 [3-73] years) studied between September 2003 and October 2004. Data were collected regarding mechanism of injury, associated injuries, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Revised Trauma Score, blood transfusions, and mortality. The fractures were classified according to instability, where type O is stable, type R is rotationally unstable, and type RV is both rotationally and vertically unstable. Because a pure acetabular fracture is a single break in the pelvic ring, we classified it as type O. Computer tomography was used for fracture classification in 73 patients and plain X-rays in 27 patients. RESULTS: There were 77 fractures caused by road traffic collisions. Type O fractures (n = 63) had lower median ISS (13 [4-48]) than type R (n = 19) (18 [9-75]) and type RV (n = 18) (18 [6-66]) (p = 0.019, Kruskall Wallis). There was no significant difference in ISS between type R and RV fractures. A logistic regression model has shown that ISS was the only significant factor that predicts mortality. CONCLUSIONS: ISS is the most important predictor in defining mortality in patients with pelvic fracture and not the type of pelvic instability.     

Assessing the true risk of abdominal solid organ injury in hospitalized rib fracture patients

BACKGROUND: Despite the lack of evidence, traditional trauma teaching has suggested that low rib fractures increase the risk of abdominal solid organ injury (ASOI). This study was designed to assess if in fact this is true, and to try and define other factors that increased the risk of ASOI in rib fracture patients. METHODS: The charts of 476 hospitalized rib fracture trauma patients were reviewed. Data were collected for age; sex; Injury Severity Score (ISS); rib fracture location; and the presence or absence of injuries to the abdominal organs, head, neck, face, thorax, great vessel, heart, thoracolumbar spine, pelvis, and extremities. RESULTS: The probability of liver injury increased with the presence of any right-sided rib fracture, any low rib fracture, female gender, young age, and an elevated ISS. The probability of splenic injury increased with the presence of left-sided rib fractures only, any low rib fracture, young age, and an elevated ISS. CONCLUSION: In hospitalized trauma patients, low rib fractures, right-sided rib fractures, female gender, young age, and an elevated ISS increased the probability of liver injury; and low rib fractures, left-sided only rib fractures, young age, and an elevated ISS increased the probability of splenic injury. Associated pelvic fractures and long bone fractures did not increase the likelihood of ASOI in this cohort.     

Relation between severity of injury and the early activation of interleukins in multiple-injured patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between severity of injury and the early activation of interleukins in multiple-injured patients. Ninety-nine patients with multiple injuries were included in this prospective study. Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha were measured. Injury Severity Score (ISS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) were all recorded. Of the 99 patients, 82 were male and 17 were female. The mean age was 26.6+/-20.7 years. The mortality rate for this series was 17%. Patients who died from trauma exhibited a significant increase for IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8 in comparison with patients who survived. Significant differences for ISS, RTS and GCS were found between survivors and non-survivors. Values in all patients with ISS>16 were increased and these increases were significant for IL-6 and IL-2. These data show that the initial increase of IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8 might predict the patients with a high possibility of mortality and a significant increase of IL-2 and IL-6 in patients with ISS>16 might be used in a new developed trauma score combined with ISS as an indicator for the injury severity.     

Exploring injury severity measures and in-hospital mortality: A multi-hospital study in Kenya

IntroductionLow- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a disproportionately high burden of injuries. Most injury severity measures were developed in high-income settings and there have been limited studies on their application and validity in low-resource settings. In this study, we compared the performance of seven injury severity measures: estimated Injury Severity Score (eISS), Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), Mechanism, GCS, Age, Pressure score (MGAP), GCS, Age, Pressure score (GAP), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) and Kampala Trauma Score (KTS), in predicting in-hospital mortality in a multi-hospital cohort of adult patients in Kenya.MethodsThis study was performed using data from trauma registries implemented in four public hospitals in Kenya. Estimated ISS, MGAP, GAP, RTS, TRISS and KTS were computed according to algorithms described in the literature. All seven measures were compared for discrimination by computing area under curve (AUC) for the receiver operating characteristics (ROC), model fit information using Akaike information criterion (AIC), and model calibration curves. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to include all trauma patients during the study period who had missing information on any of the injury severity measure(s) through multiple imputations.ResultsA total of 16,548 patients were included in the study. Complete data analysis included 14,762 (90.2%) patients for the seven injury severity measures. TRISS (complete case AUC: 0.889, 95% CI: 0.866–0.907) and KTS (complete case AUC: 0.873, 95% CI: 0.852–0.892) demonstrated similarly better discrimination measured by AUC on in-hospital deaths overall in both complete case analysis and multiple imputations. Estimated ISS had lower AUC (0.764, 95% CI: 0.736–0.787) than some injury severity measures. Calibration plots showed eISS and RTS had lower calibration than models from other injury severity measures.ConclusionsThis multi-hospital study in Kenya found statistical significant higher performance of KTS and TRISS than other injury severity measures. The KTS, is however, an easier score to compute as compared to the TRISS and has stable good performance across several hospital settings and robust to missing values. It is therefore a practical and robust option for use in low-resource settings, and is applicable to settings similar to Kenya.     

Major skeletal injuries in the obtunded blunt trauma patient: a case for routine radiologic survey

Trauma patients obtunded as a result of head injury, hypotension, alcohol, or drugs have an unreliable physical examination which may lead to errors or delays in diagnosis. To define the extent of routine radiologic survey needed in patients with a depressed level of consciousness, the records of 789 adults with blunt injuries and a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 10 or less on admission were reviewed. Major skeletal injury (MSI), was defined as one or more fractures or dislocations of the axial spine, pelvis, hip, or long bones of the lower extremity. The overall incidence of MSI was 31%. Injuries to the axial spine were present in 14% of patients, while 10% sustained pelvic fractures or hip dislocations and 15% sustained femur or tibia-fibula fractures. Patients who sustained MSI had lower admission CRAMS, Trauma Score, GCS, and admission blood pressure compared to non-MSI patients (p less than 0.002). An analysis of mechanisms of injury showed that pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle (57%), and victims of motorcycle accidents (40%) had increased incidences of MSI (p less than 0.05). Patients suffering falls (18%) and assaults (2%) had a decreased incidence of MSI (p less than 0.01). The high incidence of potentially occult MSI in obtunded patients after blunt trauma demonstrated by this data suggests the need for routine radiologic survey including the axial spine, pelvis and long bones of the lower extremity. Mechanism of injury, CRAMS, TS, and GCS may be useful in the early identification of a particularly high-risk group.     

Bladder injuries after external trauma: 20 years experience report in a population-based cross-sectional view

Objectives

Report 20 years experience of bladder injuries after external trauma.

Methods

Gender, age, mechanism/location of damage, associated injuries, systolic blood pressure (SBP), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), Trauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS), complications, and length of stay (LOS) were analyzed in a prospective collected bladder injuries AAST-OIS grade ≥II database (American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Organ Injury Scaling) from 1990 to 2009 in a trauma reference center.

Results

Among 2,575 patients experiencing laparotomy for trauma, 111 (4.3 %) presented bladder ruptures grade ≥II, being 83.8 % (n = 93) males, mean age 31.5 years old (±11.2). Blunt mechanism accounted for 50.5 % (n = 56)–motor vehicle crashes 47.3 % (n = 26), pedestrians hit by a car (29.1 %). Gunshot wounds represented 87.3 % of penetrating mechanism. The most frequent injury was grade IV (51 patients, 46 %). The mean ISS was 23.8 (±11.2), TRISS 0.90 (±0.24), and RTS 7.26 (±1.48). Severity (AAST-OIS), mechanism (blunt/penetrating), localization of the bladder injury (intra/extraperitoneal, associated), and neither concomitant rectum lesion were related to complications, LOS, or death. Mortality rate was 10.8 %. ISS > 25 (p = 0.0001), SBP <90 mmHg (p = 0.0001), RTS <7.84 (p = 0.0001), and pelvic fracture (p = 0.0011) were highly associated with grim prognosis and death with hazard ratios of 5.46, 2.70, 2.22, and 2.06, respectively.

Conclusions

Trauma scores and pelvic fractures impact survival in bladder trauma. The mortality rate has remained stable for the last two decades.     

Pelvic fractures: epidemiology and predictors of associated abdominal injuries and outcomes

BACKGROUND: Pelvic fractures are often associated with major intraabdominal injuries or severe bleeding from the fracture site. OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of pelvic fractures and identify important risk factors for associated abdominal injuries, bleeding, need for angiographic embolization, and death. METHODS: Trauma registry study on pelvic fractures from blunt trauma. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify risk factors of severe pelvic fractures, associated abdominal injuries, need for major blood transfusion, therapeutic embolization, and death from pelvic fracture. Adjusted relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were derived. RESULTS: There were 16,630 trauma registry patients with blunt trauma, of whom 1,545 (9.3%) had a pelvic fracture. The incidence of abdominal injuries was 16.5%, and the most common injured organs were the liver (6.1%) and the bladder and urethra (5.8%). In severe pelvic fractures (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] > or =4), the incidence of associated intraabdominal injuries was 30.7%, and the most commonly injured organs were the bladder and urethra (14.6%). Among the risk factors studied, motor vehicle crash is the only notable risk factor negatively associated with severe pelvic fracture. Major risk factors for associated liver injury were motor vehicle crash and pelvis AIS > or = 4. Risk factors of major blood loss were age > 16 years, pelvic AIS > or =4, angiographic embolization, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) > 25. Age> 55 years was the only predictor for associated aortic injury. Factors associated with therapeutic angiographic embolization were pelvic AIS > or =4 and ISS > 25. The overall mortality was 13.5%, but only 0.8% died as a direct result of pelvic fracture. The only pronounced risk factor associated with mortality was ISS>25. CONCLUSIONS: Some epidemiological variables are important risk factors of severity of pelvic fractures, presence of associated abdominal injuries, blood loss, and need of angiography. These risk factors can help in selecting the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.     

The pelvic fracture – Indicator of injury severity or lethal fracture?

BackgroundPresence of pelvic fractures in trauma patients has previously been related to high mortality. However, there are controversies on whether pelvic fractures are the underlying cause of death or if it is rather an indicator of injury severity. We aimed to assess whether the presence of pelvic fracture increased mortality among a cohort of trauma patients or if it was simply an indicator of severe injury.Material and methodsKarolinska University Hospital is the largest trauma centre in Sweden. The hospital is linked to the Swedish National Trauma Registry, “SweTrau”. Registry data was collected for the period January 2013 until December 2015 with a one year further follow-up regarding mortality. Patients in the pelvic fracture group were compared to the non-pelvic fracture group and regression analysis was performed adjusting for factors that could possibly affect mortality.ResultsUnivariable analysis showed that pelvic fracture was associated with an increased mortality, OR 2.4 (CI 1.3–3.4). Multivariable analysis showed that the presence of a pelvic fracture was not associated with an increased 30-day mortality (OR 0.5, CI 0.2–0.9), while factors as Shock (OR 7.1, CI 4.6–10.9), GCS < 9 (OR 6.2, CI 3.9–9.8), ISS > 15 (OR 12.4, CI 8.1–18.9), Age >60 (OR 3.2, CI 2.1–4,9) and ASA 3–4 (OR 4.7, CI 3.1–7.3) were associated with an increased 30-day mortality. Factors affecting 1-year mortality was analysed in the same way and the results were similar.ConclusionPresence of pelvic fractures in trauma patients is not correlated to increased mortality when adjusted for Age, ISS, ASA, GCS and Shock.     

Predicting inpatient mortality for pediatric trauma patients with blunt injuries: a better alternative

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify significant independent predictors of inpatient mortality rates for pediatric victims of blunt trauma and to develop a formula for predicting the probability of inpatient mortality for these patients. METHODS: Emergency department and inpatient data from 2,923 pediatric victims of blunt injury in the New York State Trauma Registry in 1994 and 1995 were used to explore the relationship between patient risk factors and mortality rate. A stepwise logistic regression model with P<.05 was developed using survival status asthe dependent variable. Independent variables included are elements of the Pediatric Trauma Score (PTS), additional elements from the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), the motor response and eye opening components of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), age-specific systolic blood pressure, the AVPU score, and 2 measures of anatomic injury severity (the Injury Severity Score [ISS] and the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision-based Injury Severity Score [ICISS]). RESULTS: The only significant independent predictors of severity that emerged were the ICISS, no motor response (best motor response = 1) from the GCS, and the unresponsive component from the AVPU score. The statistical model exhibited an excellent fit (C statistic = .964). The specificity associated with the prediction of inpatient mortality rate based on the presence of 1 or more of these risk factors was .926, and the sensitivity was .944. CONCLUSION: The best independent predictors of inpatient mortality rate for pediatric trauma patients with blunt injuries include variables not specifically contained in the PTS or the RTS: ICISS, no motor response (best motor response = 1) from the GCS, and the unresponsive component of the AVPU score.     

Early versus delayed stabilization of pediatric femur fractures: analysis of 387 patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of timing of femur fracture stabilization on pulmonary complication rates in pediatric trauma patients. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Level I trauma center. PATIENTS: Three hundred eighty-seven previously healthy patients from zero to fifteen years of age with traumatic diaphyseal femur fractures. INTERVENTION: Femur fracture stabilization: early (less than twenty-four hours after injury) in 213 patients and late in 174 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Age, sex, GCS (Glasgow Coma Score), AIS/ISS (Abbreviated Injury Score/Injury Severity Score), timing of fracture stabilization, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit stay, and hospital stay were recorded. Pulmonary complications, including pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome, and pulmonary embolus, were recorded. RESULTS: Thirteen patients developed pulmonary complications. Twelve of these had severe head injuries (GCS < or = 8). One had sustained an upper cervical spine fracture that resulted in quadriplegia. Statistical analysis revealed GCS, GCS < or = 8, ISS, and head and neck AIS to be significant predictors of pulmonary complications. Early stabilization of femur fractures had no apparent effect on the pulmonary complication rate. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary complications are rare in pediatric femur fracture patients. Patients with severe head injuries (GCS < or = 8) or cervical spinal cord injuries are at high risk for pulmonary complications. The timing of femur fracture stabilization does not appear to affect the prevalence of pulmonary complications in these patients.     

Management strategy for open pelvic fractures: A 11-year single-centre,retrospective observational study

Introduction: Open pelvic fractures are commonly associated with life-threatening, uncontrollable haemorrhages. Although management methods for pelvic injury-associated haemorrhage have been established, the early mortality rate associated with open pelvic fractures remains high. This study aimed to identify predictors of mortality and effective treatment methods for open pelvic fractures.Methods: We defined open pelvic fractures as pelvic fractures with an open wound directly connected to the adjacent soft tissue, genitals, perineum, or anorectal structures, resulting in soft tissue injuries. This study was performed on trauma patients (age ≥15 years) injured by a blunt mechanism between 2011 and 2021 at a single trauma centre. We collected and analysed the data on the Injury Severity Score (ISS), the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS), length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit stay, transfusion, preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP), resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA), therapeutic angio-embolisation, laparotomy, faecal diversion, and mortality.ResultsForty-seven patients with blunt open pelvic fractures were included. The median age was 45 years (interquartile range, 27–57 years) and median ISS was 34 (24–43). The most frequently performed treatment methods were laparotomy (53%) and pelvic binder (53%), followed by faecal diversion (40%) and PPP (38%). PPP was the only method performed at a higher rate in the survival group for haemorrhagic control (41% vs. 30%). Haemorrhagic mortality was present in one case that received PPP. The overall mortality was 21%. In the univariate logistic regression analysis, initial systolic blood pressure (SBP), TRISS, RTS, packed red blood cell transfusion for the first 24 h, and base excess showed statistical significance (p<0.05). In the multivariate logistic regression model, initial SBP was identified as an independent risk factor for mortality (odds ratio, 0.943; 95% confidence interval, 0.907–0.980; p = 0.003).ConclusionA low initial SPB may be an independent predictor of mortality in patients with open pelvic fractures. Our findings suggest that PPP might be a feasible method to decrease haemorrhagic mortality from open pelvic fractures, especially for haemodynamically unstable patients with low initial SBP. Further studies are required to validate these clinical findings.     

Clinical retrospective and comparative study on diaphragm injuries in 46 cases

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Deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in trauma patients: an overstatement of the problem?

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) affect high-risk trauma patients (HRTP). Accurate incidence and clinical importance of DVT and PE in HRPT may be overstated. We performed a ten-year retrospective analysis of HRTP of the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study. High-risk factors (HRF) included pelvic fracture (PFx), lower extremity fracture (LEFx), severe head injury (CHI) (AIS - head > or =3), and spinal cord injury. HRF alone or in combination, age, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) were examined for association with DVT/PE. A total of 73,419 HRTP were included: 1377 (1.9%) had DVT, 365 (0.5%) had PE. The incidence of DVT in level I trauma centers was 2.2 per cent and was 1.5 per cent in level II centers. The lowest incidence of DVT was 1.3 per cent for isolated LEFx; highest was 5.4% for combined PFx, LEFx, and CHI. Variables associated with DVT included age, ISS, and GCS (all P < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, only ISS was consistently predictive for DVT and PE. Though increased during the past decade, the overall incidence of DVT in HRTP remains below 3 per cent. Only the combination of multiple injuries or an ISS >30 result in DVT incidence of > or =5 per cent. We believe that current guidelines for screening for DVT may need to be reevaluated.     

Prognostic value of trauma scores in pediatric patients with multiple injuries

BACKGROUND: For the quantification of multiple injuries in children, a range of different trauma scores are available, the actual prognostic value of which has, however, not so far been investigated and compared in a group of patients. METHODS: In 261 polytraumatized children and adolescents, 11 trauma scores (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS], Injury Severity Score [ISS], Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS], Acute Trauma Index [ATI], Shock Index [SI], Trauma Score [TS], Revised Trauma Score [RTS], Modified Injury Severity Score [MISS], Trauma and Injury Severity Score [TRISS]-Scan, Hannover Polytrauma Score [HPTS], and Pediatric Trauma Score [PTS]) were calculated, and their prognostic relevance in terms of survival, duration of intensive care treatment, hospital stay, and long-term outcome analyzed. RESULTS: With a specificity of 80%, physiologic scores (TS, RTS, GCS, ATI) showed a greater accuracy (79-86% vs. 73-79%) with regard to survival prediction than did the anatomic scores (AIS, HPTS, ISS, PTS); combined forms of these two types of score (TRISS-Scan, MISS) did not provide any additional information (76-80%). Overall, the TRISS-Scan was the score that showed the highest correlation with duration of treatment and long-term outcome. Trauma scores specially conceived for use with children (PTS, MISS) failed to show any superiority vis-à-vis trauma scores in general. CONCLUSION: With regard to prognostic quality and ease of use in the practical setting, TS and the TRISS-Scan are recommended for polytrauma in children and adolescents. Special pediatric scores are not necessary.