Educational project: low cost porcine model for venous cutdown training.

Objective: to describe and evaluate the acceptance of a porcine experimental model in venous cutdown on a medical education project in Southwest of Brazil.

Method: a porcine experimental model was developed for training in venous cutdown as a teaching project. Medical students and resident physicians received theoretical training in this surgical technique and then practiced it on the model.

Radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging in severely injured trauma patients.

Background: Trauma patients often require multiple imaging tests, including computed tomography (CT) scans. CT scanning, however, is associated with high-radiation doses. The purpose of this study was to measure the radiation doses trauma patients receive from diagnostic imaging.

Preventable deaths from hemorrhage at a level I Canadian trauma center.

Background: Studies of trauma deaths have had a tremendous impact on the quality of contemporary trauma care. We studied causes of trauma death at a Level I Canadian trauma center, and tabulated preventable deaths from hemorrhage using explicit criteria.

Methods: Trauma registry data were used to identify all trauma deaths at our institution from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2003.