Evaluating a symptom-triggered gastric residual volume policy in a surgical trauma intensive care unit: Simple and safe.

Background: Routine checking of gastric residual volumes (GRVs) during enteral feeding within surgical trauma intensive care units (STICUs) is a common practice. However, data on the necessity of this practice and its impact on nutrient delivery are limited. We aim to study the association between the replacement of a routine GRV (rGRV) policy with a triggered GRV (tGRV) policy and the safe achievement of daily nutrition goals.

Swallowing dysfunction in trauma patients with cervical spine fractures treated with halo-vest fixation.

Unlabelled: ACKGROUND:: Cervical spine fractures are common in traumatically injured patients. The halo-vest brace is a common treatment used for these fractures. We hypothesize that the use of halo-vest fixation is associated with a high incidence of dysphagia in trauma patients.

Novel bacterial immobilization compound effectively decreases bacterial counts in healthy volunteers.

Skin flora immobilization technology is similar in efficacy to Iodine-Povidone in healthy volunteers. We did a prospective study in a university clinic with 60 healthy volunteers. Right inguinal skin area on healthy volunteers was used to compare the antimicrobial properties of cyanoacrylate sealant (FloraSeal, Adhesion Biomedical, Wyomissing, PA) versus standard surgical preparation Povidone-iodine (Betadine, Purdue Productions, Stamford, CT).

Injury surveillance in Trinidad: an accident and emergency based injury surveillance system at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Objective: Injuries are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Injuries disproportionately affect people living in low and middle income countries, including the Caribbean; however little is known about the epidemiology of injuries in these areas. An accident and emergency (A&E) department injury surveillance system was established at the San Fernando General Hospital, Trinidad and Tobago, to address this important data gap.

The use of prognostic indicators in the development of a statistical model predictive for adrenal insufficiency in trauma patients.

We performed a retrospective chart review of trauma patients admitted to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital and identified 63 cases of adrenal insufficiency along with 65 trauma patient controls. Two statistical models, a neural network and a multiple logistic regression, were developed to predict patients with increased risk of developing adrenal insufficiency. Each model had 11 selected independent variables, along with patient demographic data, to make a probabilistic prediction of patient outcome.

Diabetes insipidus in the head-injured patient.

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is an uncommon but important complication in the head-injured population. A retrospective review of all trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during a 4-year period who developed DI was undertaken. The incidence of DI was 1.

Maxillofacial injuries and life-threatening hemorrhage: treatment with transcatheter arterial embolization.

Background: There are many reasons for hypotension in trauma patients with multiple injuries; one uncommon source is facial fractures. The treatment algorithm is volume replacement and local control of the bleeding. A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the treatment of patients with life-threatening hemorrhage secondary to facial fractures, and to develop a treatment algorithm.

Laparoscopic repair of large incisional hernias.

Incisional hernias after abdominal operations are a significant cause of long-term morbidity and have been reported to occur in 3 to 20 per cent of laparotomy incisions. Traditional primary suture closure repair is plagued with up to a 50 per cent recurrence rate. With the introduction of prosthetic mesh repair recurrence decreased, but complications with mesh placement emerged ushering in the development of laparoscopic incisional herniorrhaphy.

Post hoc mortality analysis of the efficacy trial of diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin in the treatment of severe traumatic hemorrhagic shock.

Background: The efficacy trial of diaspirin cross-linked hemoglobin (DCLHb) in traumatic hemorrhagic shock demonstrated an unexpected mortality imbalance, prompting a three-step review to better understand the cause of this finding.

Methods: Patients were enrolled in this DCLHb hemorrhagic shock study using 28-day mortality as the primary endpoint. Mortality data were primarily analyzed using the TRISS method and a nonblinded clinical review, followed by an independent Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study (PTOS)-derived probability of survival analyses.

Liberalized screening for blunt carotid and vertebral artery injuries is justified.

Background: Current literature suggests that blunt carotid injuries (BCIs) and vertebral artery injuries (BVIs) are more common than once appreciated. Screening criteria have been suggested, but only one previous study has attempted to identify factors that predict the presence of BCI/BVI. This current study was conducted for two reasons.

Ultrasound-assisted direct percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (DPEJ) tube placement.

Direct percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (DPEJ) is an effective method of enteral feeding. However, failure rates with this procedure remain high due to various technical problems. We describe a case where modifications in the technique and ultrasound guidance assisted in a difficult DPEJ placement.

A multi-institutional study of factors associated with fetal death in injured pregnant patients.

Hypothesis: Factors associated with fetal death in injured pregnant patients are related to increasing injury severity and abnormal maternal physiologic profile.

Design: A multi-institutional retrospective study of 13 level I and level II trauma centers from 1992 to 1996.

Main Outcome Measure: Fetal survival.

Prospective study of blunt aortic injury: Multicenter Trial of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Background: Blunt aortic injury is a major cause of death from blunt trauma. Evolution of diagnostic techniques and methods of operative repair have altered the management and posed new questions in recent years.

Methods: This study was a prospectively conducted multi-center trial involving 50 trauma centers in North America under the direction of the Multi-institutional Trial Committee of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Two-dimensional echocardiography in the evaluation of penetrating intrapericardial injuries.

Patients with penetrating pericardial trauma whose vital signs stabilize after fluid administration may present a therapeutic dilemma. Two-dimensional echocardiography has emerged as a diagnostic technique to help determine whether surgical intervention may be required. We present 5 patients with penetrating pericardial trauma whose vital signs stabilized after fluid administration and who had minimal clinical findings.

Bilateral neck exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism.

Controversy about the operative approach for primary hyperparathyroidism has prompted a review of our operative experience since 1980. We treated 73 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism during this 10-year period, all of whom underwent bilateral neck exploration in which the surgeons attempted to locate all parathyroid tissue. Thirty-eight patients (52%) were found to have a solitary adenoma, while 35 (48%) patients had multiple gland pathology.

Effect of isolated hepatic ischemia on organic anion clearance and oxidative metabolism.

Hepatic failure is frequently seen following severe hemorrhagic shock, sepsis, and trauma. Clearance of various drugs has been used to evaluate hepatocellular dysfunction, including indocyanine green (ICG), an organic anionic dye that is transported similarly to bilirubin, and antipyrine (AP), a marker of oxidative phosphorylation. Previous investigators have noted a decrease in ICG excretion following systemic hemorrhage.

Complications of nonoperative management of blunt hepatic injuries.

Few, if any, complications have been reported with the nonoperative management of selected hepatic injuries diagnosed by computed tomographic (CT) scan in hemodynamically stable patients. This retrospective study was designed to evaluate complications associated with this form of management. Twenty-six patients (21%) of 128 patients with blunt hepatic injuries were treated nonoperatively over a 3-year period.

Noninvasive diagnosis of vascular trauma by duplex ultrasonography.

Duplex ultrasonography was used prospectively in the initial evaluation of 198 patients with 319 potential vascular injuries of the neck and extremities. Patients who were unstable or who had obvious arterial trauma were excluded. Injury was caused by gunshot in 104 (53%), blunt trauma in 42 (21%), stab wound in 34 (17%), and shotgun in 18 (9%).