Torso vascular trauma at an urban level I trauma center

Injuries to the great vessels of the torso are more commonly seen and managed in busy urban trauma centers. This same injury complex is rarely seen in military conflicts, likely due to the high kinetic energy wounding mechanisms seen in this setting. While most of the great advancements in trauma surgery over the past century have generally resulted from our wartime experience, civilian centers have contributed greatly to the understanding and management of torso vascular injuries. The presentation and management of injuries to the great vessels of the torso from major penetrating and blunt trauma are reviewed.     

Injury during contact with horses: recent experience with 75 patients at a level I trauma center

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine equine-related trauma at a trauma center servicing a region in which there is significant contact between horses and humans. METHODS: Data were collected on all patients admitted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center from January 1994 to December 1998 for treatment of horse-related injuries. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients were admitted to our center after injuries due to contact with horses (0.75% of all trauma admissions). There were 42 men (55%). The mean age was 37 years (range, 3 to 81 years). The majority of patients (67/75) were injured during recreational activities, and most fell or were thrown (40/75). Only 14% of patients were wearing helmets. The most common injuries were extremity fractures and head injuries, but thoracic and abdominal injuries were not rare. Of the 75 patients, 34 required surgery. Five patients (6.7%) died, all of head injury. During the study period, 11 people died in Kentucky due to contact with horses. CONCLUSIONS: Injury due to contact with horses is uncommon even at a center servicing a region with a large equine population. However, injuries are often serious and lead to significant morbidity and occasional mortality. Prevention of death from horse-related trauma is synonymous with prevention of head injury.     

Diagnostic radiation exposure in trauma patients

Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) were read from 31 patients with multisystem trauma after emergency stabilization to determine radiation dosage from diagnostic studies. Exposures did not greatly exceed permissible dose limits for the general population.     

Alcohol and drug screening of adolescent trauma alert patients at a level 1 pediatric trauma center

BackgroundAdolescent trauma patients are reported to have increased incidence of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, but previous studies have included inadequate screening of the intended populations. A Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center achieved a 94% rate of AOD screening. We hypothesized that a positive AOD screening result is associated with males, increasing age, lower socioeconomic status, violent injury mechanism, higher Injury Severity Score (ISS), lower GCS, need for operation and increased hospital length of stay.MethodsAfter achieving high rates of screening among admitted trauma alert patients 12–17 years old, we evaluated patients presenting during 2014–2015. Chi-square tests were used to compare the percentage of patients with positive test results across sociodemographic, injury severity measures and patient outcomes.ResultsThree hundred and one patients met criteria for AOD screening during the study period. Ninety-four percent of these patients received screening and 18% were positive. Males (21.4%) were more often positive than females (11.6%). Increasing age was directly correlated with AOD use. Race was associated with a positive screen. Black patients more often had positive screens (40.9%), as compared with White patients (13.8%) and other races (23.5%). Patients with commercial insurance (6.6%) were less likely to be positive than those with no insurance (19.0%) or Medicaid (30.9%). Lower median household income was associated with positive AOD screening. Patients with violent injury mechanisms were more likely to screen positive (36.2%) than those with non-violent mechanisms (18.0%). No statistical differences were found with injury severity scores, the need for operation, or hospital length of stay.ConclusionsWith near universal screening of adolescent trauma alert admissions, positive AOD results were more often found with males, increasing age, lower socioeconomic status, and violent injury mechanism.Level of evidenceLevel III, Retrospective comparative study without negative criteria.Study TypePrognostic.     

Electronic documentation of trauma resuscitations at a level 1 pediatric trauma center

Although many hospitals across the country have implemented an electronic medical record (EMR) for inpatient care, very few have successfully implemented an EMR for trauma resuscitations. Although there is evidence that the EMR improves patient safety, increases access to all care providers, increases workflow efficiency, and minimizes time spent on documenting thereby improving nursing care, the fast paced, complex nature of trauma resuscitations makes it difficult to implement such a system for trauma documentation. With the support of multiple disciplines with a variety of clinical knowledge, this article describes the design process that has led us to successful development and implementation of an EMR for documentation of trauma resuscitations.     

Changes and significance of serum troponin in trauma patients: A retrospective study in a level I trauma center

BACKGROUND: Elevated troponin I(TnI) is common among trauma patients. TnI is an indicator of myocardial injury, but clinical diagnosis of blunt cardiac injury cannot be based solely on an increase in TnI. Therefore, this study aims to explore the changes and clinical significance of serum TnI in trauma patients. METHODS: The clinical data of consecutive trauma patients admitted to our trauma center between July 1, 2017 and July 31, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to TnI levels within 24 hours of admission, patients were divided into the elevated and normal TnI groups. According to the TnI levels after 7 days of admission, a graph depicting a change in trend was drawn and then analyzed whether TnI was related to in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 166 patients(69 and 97 cases with elevated and normal TnI, respectively) were included in this study. The average hospital stay, intensive care time, mechanical ventilation time, and in-hospital mortality were higher in the elevated TnI group than in the normal TnI group(P<0.05). The TnI level of trauma patients gradually increased after admission and peaked at 48 hours(7.804±1.537 ng/mL). Subsequently, it decreased, and then recovered to normal within 7 days. However, 13 patients did not recover. Logistic regression analysis revealed that abnormal TnI at 7 days was independently related to in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma patients with elevated TnI levels may have a worse prognosis. Monitoring the changes in serum TnI is important, which can reflect the prognosis better than the TnI measured immediately after admission.     

Geriatric trauma patients at a suburban level-I trauma center in Japan

BACKGROUND: Despite the increases in the aged population in Japan, there are little data on geriatric patients with traumatic injuries. A prospective clinical study was carried out to evaluate the use of the emergency medical services (EMS) system, mechanisms of injury, and prehospital assessment and triage of elderly victims of trauma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From July 1996 through June 1997, a group of geriatric trauma (Group G, n = 22) and a control group of younger trauma patients (n = 173) were compared with respect to transfer method to an Emergency Center (direct or indirect), Revised Trauma Scores on the scene of the accident (RTS-1) and on admission to the Emergency Center (RTS-2), and outcome (survival). RESULTS: The mean values for RTS-1 in the Control Group (Group C) were not different from those in Group G, but RTS-2 of the indirect-transfer patients (IP) in Group G were significantly lower than were those for Group C. Group G mortality rates were significantly higher than were the control rates (p = 0.0001). The mortality rate of the IP subgroup was significantly lower than that of the direct transfer subgroup (DP) (30/68 vs. 5/70, p < 0.0001) in the Group C, but mortality rate of the IP subgroup exceeded that of the DP subgroup of Group G (8/14 vs. 5/8). CONCLUSION: The data suggest that in geriatric-age patients, direct transfer patients have a lower mortality rate than do indirect transfer patients when controlled for ISS. Therefore, it seems that a different set of triage criteria should be developed and implemented for geriatric-age victims with trauma-induced injuries and that those who meet these more stringent criteria should be transferred directly to a Trauma Center.     

Etiology, diagnosis, and characteristics of facial fracture at a midwestern level I trauma center

Study purpose was to describe facial fracture frequency, demography, injury characteristics, and diagnostic modalities at a Midwestern level I trauma center. A retrospective review was conducted on a Midwestern trauma center registry for years 2008 and 2009. Patient and injury data were collected along with diagnostic modality for facial fracture patients. Comparative statistics were conducted on the basis of the number of facial fractures, route of admission, presence of traumatic brain injury, and gender. There were 154 patients diagnosed with 443 facial fractures, representing 5% of the trauma population. Median patient age was 45 years. Median number of fractures was 2. Fractures were frequently present in orbit (32%), malar bone and maxilla (26%), and the nasal bones (19%). Motor vehicle crash was the most common mechanism (47%). Most fractures were diagnosed with maxillofacial computed tomography (78%). Males had an odds ratio of 2.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.15-5.43) for multiple facial fractures and composed 67% of the sample. Traumatic brain injury was diagnosed in 71% of patients. This study of a medium-sized city and its surrounding rural areas revealed differences from studies in large urban centers. Differences included lower gender ratio, older average age, and mechanism of injury. While urban trauma centers report assault as a leading cause of facial fracture, this study noted higher frequencies of motor vehicle crash and falls and fewer assaults.     

Cofactors of alcohol-related trauma at a rural trauma center

To analyze the cofactors of alcohol-related trauma at a rural, Level II trauma center, 127 admitted trauma patients were interviewed about psychological problems, social factors, and medical histories. Patients were divided into two groups, blood alcohol content (BAC) positive and BAC negative, for analysis. Seventy-one patients (56%) were BAC negative; 56 (44%) were BAC positive. Forty-three of the 82 males (52%) had positive BAC tests, compared with 13 of the 45 females (29%) (P = .01). Fifty-one of the 56 BAC-positive patients (91%) were aged 21 to 50 years, compared with 29 of the 71 BAC-negative patients (41%) (P = .0001). Ten of the 12 patients (83%) who were recently unemployed were BAC positive, compared with 46 of the 115 patients (40%) who were not recently unemployed (P = .004). Eleven of the 12 patients (92%) with positive drug screens were BAC positive, compared with 45 of the 115 patients (39%) with negative drug screens (P = .0005). These results show that there are important cofactors of alcohol-related trauma in rural areas.     

eFAST exam errors at a level 1 trauma center: A retrospective cohort study

ObjectivesExtended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (eFAST) ultrasound exams are central to the care of the unstable trauma patient. We examined six years of eFAST quality assurance data to identify the most common reasons for false positive and false negative eFAST exams.MethodsThis was an observational, retrospective cohort study of trauma activation patients evaluated in an urban, academic Level 1 trauma center. All eFAST exams that were identified as false positive or false negative exams compared with computed tomography (CT) imaging were included.Results4860 eFAST exams were performed on trauma patients. 1450 (29.8%) were undocumented, technically limited, or incomplete (missing images). Of the 3410 remaining exams, 180 (5.27%) were true positive and 3128 (91.7%) were true negative. 27 (0.79%) exams were identified as false positive and 75 (2.19%) were identified as false negative. Of the false positive scans, 7 had no CT scan and 8 had correct real-time trauma paper documentation of eFAST exam results when compared to CT and were excluded, leaving 12 false positive scans. Of the false negative scans, 11 were excluded for concordant documentation in real-time trauma room paper documentation, 20 were excluded for no CT scan, and 2 were excluded as incomplete, leaving 42 false negative scans. Pelvic fluid, double-line sign, pericardial fat pad, and the thoracic portion of the eFAST exam were the most common source of errors.ConclusionThe eFAST exams in trauma activation patients are highly accurate. Unfortunately poor documentation and technically limited/incomplete studies represent 29.8% of our eFAST exams.Pelvic fluid, double-line sign, pericardial fat pad, and the thoracic portion of the eFAST exam are the most common source of errors.     

Understanding trauma as a men's health issue: sex differences in traumatic injury presentations at a level 1 trauma center in Australia

Predominantly, males have a higher risk of injury mortality and morbidity than females. However, less is known about gender differences for injury and trauma outcome at a regional level. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiologic profile and trauma outcomes of males and females at a level 1 trauma center to inform local injury prevention efforts. A retrospective review was conducted of injuries identified from the trauma registry of the New South Wales St George Public Hospital during January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2008. There were 6763 major trauma presentations, and 65.1% of these were of males. Males had a higher proportion of trauma presentations in each age group, except for those younger than 15 years, 45 to 54 years, and older than 65 years. Almost all presentations were as a result of unintentional injuries. However, 8% of males were victims of assault compared with 2% of females. Males were more likely to be injured while working and during leisure or sports activities and at sporting, farming, home, trade, and industrial locations than females. Males were more likely to be more severely injured than females and generally had a longer hospital length of stay. There was no significant difference in the rate of mortality between the genders. There are distinct differences between the sexes regarding the mechanism and severity of injury and trauma outcomes. Local injury prevention initiatives should be targeted to address gender differences. Future social research should examine the interplay of the construction of masculinities with male injury.