Transfer of acute care surgery patients in a rural state: a concerning trend.

Background: Regionalized care of complex patients to larger hospitals is an increasingly common practice as the population ages and the physician shortage evolves. The Acute Care Surgery model is new, and there are limited data on the patients being transferred through this system. We hypothesized transfer patients would be older, more complex, and require additional resources.

Cervical spine MRI in patients with negative CT: A prospective, multicenter study of the Research Consortium of New England Centers for Trauma (ReCONECT).

Background: Although cervical spine CT (CSCT) accurately detects bony injuries, it may not identify all soft tissue injuries. Although some clinicians rely exclusively on a negative CT to remove spine precautions in unevaluable patients or patients with cervicalgia, others use MRI for that purpose. The objective of this study was to determine the rates of abnormal MRI after a negative CSCT.

Valproate for agitation in critically ill patients: A retrospective study.

Purpose: The purpose was to describe the use of valproate therapy for agitation in critically ill patients, examine its safety, and describe its relationship with agitation and delirium.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated critically ill adults treated with valproate for agitation from December 2012 through February 2015. Information on valproate prescribing practices and safety was collected.

The distribution of survival times after injury.

Introduction: The distribution of survival times after injury has been described as "trimodal," but several studies have not confirmed this. The purpose of this study was to clarify the distribution of survival times after injury.

Methods: We defined survival time (t(s)) as the interval between injury time and declared death time.