An evidence-based approach to managing gunshot wounds in the emergency department.

Education regarding ballistic injuries in the emergency department is sparse and may rarely be encountered if not training or practicing in a trauma center or a military wartime setting. This article provides a comprehensive review on the management of ballistic injuries in the emergency department, including how to assess and manage gunshot wounds, how to recognize when further imaging or evaluation is needed, and how to recognize when transfer to another facility is required. Algorithms are proposed for the management of gunshot wounds based on body part: head, neck, chest and abdomen, and extremities/soft tissue.

Geriatric Trauma.

Geriatric trauma patients will continue to increase in prevalence as the population ages, and many specific considerations need to be made to provide appropriate care to these patients. This article outlines common presentations of trauma in geriatric patients, with consideration to baseline physiologic function and patterns of injury that may be more prevalent in geriatric populations. Additionally, the article explores specific evidence-based management practices, the significance of trauma team and geriatrician involvement, and disposition decisions.

Improving out-of-hospital notification in traumatic cardiac arrests with novel usage of smartphone application.

Introduction: Timely out-of-hospital notifications in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest are associated improvements in mortality. Details surrounding these events are often limited, and decisions to perform advanced resuscitative procedures must be made based on limited data. This study evaluated the ability of a mobile application (app) called Citizen (sp0n Inc.

Oxygen sensitivity of red cell membrane transporters revisited.

In this paper, we provide an update on O2-dependent membrane transport in red cells. O2-sensitive membrane transport was compared in nucleated (chicken) and enucleated (human) red cells, to investigate effects on organic (glucose transporter [GLUT]) and inorganic (K(+)-Cl- cotransporter [KCC]/Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransporter [NKCC]) transporters, to study the response of so-called "housekeeping" transporters (Na+/K+ pump and anion exchanger [AE]) and, finally, to compare O2 sensitivity in normal human red cells with those from sickle cell patients. The Na+/K+ pump showed no change in activity between oxygenated and deoxygenated cells in any of the samples.

Oxygen dependence of K(+)-Cl- cotransport in human red cell ghosts and sickle cells.

KCC activity in normal human red cells (containing haemoglobin A, HbA, and termed HbA cells) is O2-dependent, being active in oxygenated cells but inactive in deoxygenated ones. The mechanism for O2 dependence is unknown but a role for Hb has been suggested. In this paper, we address two main questions.

Age-dependent changes in cation transport in the chicken erythrocyte.

Previous work has shown that the transport phenotype of chicken erythrocytes changes with the age of the chicken. Here, we report changes in the transport of choline and K+ in erythrocytes from chickens at different developmental ages. The transport of choline in chicken erythrocytes was predominantly via saturable transport systems, was highest in erythrocytes from 1-day-old chickens and declined with chicken age when tested at 2 weeks of age and in mature chickens.