Association of Time to Definitive Hemostasis With Mortality in Patients With Solid Organ Injuries.

Introduction The Golden Hour is a term used in the trauma setting to refer to the first 60 minutes after injury. Traditionally, definitive care within this period was believed to dramatically increase a patient's survival. Though the period of 60 minutes is unlikely to represent a point of distinct inflection in survival, the effect of time to definitive care on survival remains incompletely understood.

Elevated Cardiac Troponin Is Most Often Associated With Type 2 Myocardial Infarction in Trauma Patients.

Introduction Cardiac troponin (cTn) forms an essential part of the diagnostic criteria for myocardial infarction (MI). Type 1 MI is a primary coronary arterial event, whereas type 2 MI is due to coronary oxygen supply/demand mismatch, which is common in trauma patients. In addition, cTn may be elevated for many reasons other than MI.

Fluid and Solute Intakes Show Minimal Association With Serum Sodium Levels in a Mixed ICU Population.

Background:  Hyponatremia is common among hospital inpatients. It is generally due to excess free body water resulting from increased water intake and decreased water elimination due to underlying pathology and hormonal influence. However, supporting evidence is lacking for treating mild hyponatremia with fluid restriction.

Endpoints in Vital Signs as a Useful Tool for Measuring Successful Needle Decompression After Traumatic Tension Pneumothorax: An Analysis of the National Emergency Medicine Information System Database.

Background Needle decompression is a useful tool in the pre-hospital setting for treating tension pneumothorax. However the specific improvements in vital signs that determine a successful decompression are only reported in a few studies and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) self-reported assessments of improvement are more commonplace. We hypothesize that EMS reports may exaggerate improvement when compared to objective vital sign changes.

Hospital-Acquired Condition Rate of Admitting Facility Does Not Predict Mortality in Traumatically Injured Patients.

Background: Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) are increasingly scrutinized as markers of hospital quality and are subject to increasing regulatory and financial pressure. Despite this, there is little evidence that HACs are associated with poor outcomes in traumatically injured patients, or that lower HAC rates are a marker of a better quality of care. Our study compares mortality rates in hospitals with high versus low rates of HAC.

Increasing Rate of Pulmonary Embolism in Trauma Patients at a Level One Trauma Center: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement?

Introduction Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the most common cause of preventable hospital death in trauma patients, with 100,000 patients dying from PE annually. A steadily increasing PE rate was observed over seven years in the trauma population at a single level one trauma center. Our study seeks to analyze this trend by examining risk factors and searching for targets for improvement.

The Effect of Illegal Drug Screening Results and Chronic Drug Use on Perioperative Complications in Trauma.

Context: Illegal drug use and need for surgery are common in trauma. This allows examination of the effects of perioperative drug use.

Aim: The aim was to study the effects of illegal drug use on perioperative complications in trauma.

Analysis of Predictors of Myocardial Infarction in Trauma With Development of a Trauma Cardiac Risk Index.

Study Objective: Trauma has historically been considered a disorder of the young and healthy, with a low risk of cardiac ischemia; hence most research on myocardial infarction in trauma has focused on direct cardiac damage from blunt chest trauma. However, the age and comorbidity of trauma patients are increasing, making the trauma population more vulnerable to myocardial infarction (MI). Cardiac risk assessment has emphasized morbidity and mortality in an elective surgical setting, but it is also important in acute trauma.

Efficacy and Safety of Tranexamic Acid in Prehospital Traumatic Hemorrhagic Shock: Outcomes of the Cal-PAT Study.

Introduction: The California Prehospital Antifibrinolytic Therapy (Cal-PAT) study seeks to assess the safety and impact on patient mortality of tranexamic acid (TXA) administration in cases of trauma-induced hemorrhagic shock. The current study further aimed to assess the feasibility of prehospital TXA administration by paramedics within the framework of North American emergency medicine standards and protocols.

Methods: This is an ongoing multi-centered, prospective, observational cohort study with a retrospective chart-review comparison.