Publications by authors named "Nichola Foster"
Article Synopsis
- Traumatic heterotopic ossification (tHO) is the formation of extra bone in muscles and soft tissues following trauma, leading to significant challenges in patient recovery and higher healthcare costs.
- A study analyzed 188 trauma patients over 14 years, comparing those with tHO to matched control patients, revealing that tHO patients had a much longer average hospital stay (142 days vs. 61 days).
- Key factors contributing to longer hospital stays included a tHO diagnosis, use of mechanical ventilation, injuries to specific body areas, and other medical complications like pressure injuries and deep vein thrombosis.
Article Synopsis
- tHO, or traumatic heterotopic ossification, is an abnormal bone formation in soft tissues resulting from burn, neurological, or orthopedic injuries, which is not well documented in Western Australia trauma centers.
- The study aimed to assess the completeness and accuracy of ICD-10-AM diagnostic coding for tHO across four hospitals in WA, revealing that specific codes often missed identifying true cases.
- Findings showed that over one-third of actual tHO cases were not captured by specific codes, indicating discrepancies in clinical documentation within the hospital network and suggesting significant coding inaccuracies.
Heterotopic Ossification (HO) is a rare but severely debilitating complication after a burn. Despite there being literature of varying quality explaining the postulated pathological process, risk factors and treatment for HO, the individual experiences of adults diagnosed with HO following a burn, remains unreported. This study sought to explore and describe burn survivors' experiences of HO to gain a greater understanding of the clinical needs for this unique patient population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is the formation of lamellar bone within connective and other tissue where bone should not form and is a rare complication after burn injury. However, it leads to severe pain and distress, marked reduction in joint range of motion (ROM), impaired function and increased hospital length of stay. The pathophysiology, incidence and risk factors of HO remain poorly understood in burns and other traumas and the management, controversial.
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