Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Pediatric Scapula Fractures: A Report of 2 Cases.

Case: Two pediatric patients with displaced, extra-articular scapula fractures who underwent surgery because of concerns for persistent deformity and decreased function with continued nonoperative management.

Conclusion: We advocate careful consideration of all patient factors and treatment options when addressing pediatric scapula fractures. Specific fracture patterns with altered shoulder girdle mechanics may warrant surgical intervention to restore anatomic alignment and stability.

Outcomes research: Mandibular fractures in the diabetic population.

Objective: The study aimed to examine the management and outcomes of mandibular fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus by examining the injury modalities, treatment methods, and complications.

Methods: The study conducted was a retrospective case review of patients admitted to Memorial Hermann Hospital from 2007 to 2011 with diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and mandibular fracture. The electronic medical records were reviewed for patient demographics, injury data, surgery methodology, treatment variables, and complications.

Randomized trial to evaluate nutritional status and absorption of enteral feeding after brain death.

Context: Catecholamines and inflammatory mediators, with elevated levels after brain death, are associated with reduced function and survival of transplanted organs. Enteral nutrition reduces tissue damage and may benefit organs.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of immunomodulating enteral nutrition in organ donors.

Human mild traumatic brain injury decreases circulating branched-chain amino acids and their metabolite levels.

The pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is complex and not well understood. Because pathophysiology has ramifications for injury progression and outcome, we sought to identify metabolic cascades that are altered after acute human mild and severe TBI. Because catabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; i.

Human traumatic brain injury alters circulating L-arginine and its metabolite levels: possible link to cerebral blood flow, extracellular matrix remodeling, and energy status.

Altered cerebral blood flow, cell-matrix interactions, and energy metabolism are secondary pathologies contributing to outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Because L-arginine serves as the precursor for metabolites that are critical to these processes, we measured their plasma levels using LC-MS/GC-MS. Samples were collected from healthy volunteers (n=20), and patients with mild TBI (n=18), severe TBI (n=20), or orthopedic injury without a TBI (n=15), within the first 24 hours of injury.

Hospital discharge documentation and risk of rehospitalisation.

BACKGROUND Avoidable hospital readmission is a focus of quality improvement efforts. The effectiveness of individual elements of the standard discharge process in reducing rehospitalisation is unknown. METHODS The authors conducted a case-control study of 1039 patients experiencing rehospitalisation within 30 days of discharge and 981 non-rehospitalised patients matched on admission diagnosis, discharge disposition, and severity of illness.

Human traumatic brain injury alters plasma microRNA levels.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) present in the serum/plasma are characteristically altered in many pathological conditions, and have been employed as diagnostic markers for specific diseases. We examined if plasma miRNA levels are altered in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) relative to matched healthy volunteers, and explored their potential for use as diagnostic TBI biomarkers. The plasma miRNA profiles from severe TBI patients (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score ≤8) and age-, gender-, and race-matched healthy volunteers were compared by microarray analysis.

A multigenerational family with persistent sleep related rhythmic movement disorder (RMD) and insomnia.

In the International Classification of Sleep Disorders 2nd Edition (ICSD-2), sleep related rhythmic movement disorder (RMD) is classified as a disorder characterized by rhythmic movements of large muscle groups in different parts of the body. These are repetitive, stereotyped, rhythmic motor behaviors that occur predominantly during drowsiness or sleep,and are typically seen in infants and children. Episodes often occur at sleep onset, at any time during the night, and during quiet wakeful activities at a frequency of 0.

Serum IL-6: a candidate biomarker for intracranial pressure elevation following isolated traumatic brain injury.

Background: Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) is a serious, life-threatening, secondary event following traumatic brain injury (TBI). In many cases, ICP rises in a delayed fashion, reaching a maximal level 48-96 hours after the initial insult. While pressure catheters can be implanted to monitor ICP, there is no clinically proven method for determining a patient's risk for developing this pathology.

Termination and side-reactions of polystyryllithium with beta-bromostyrene.

Low molecular weight polystyryllithium was synthesised and terminated with a two-fold molar excess of beta-bromostyrene to produce an end-functionalised polymer. 1,3-Diphenylallyl-terminated polystyrene and other reaction products were analysed by FT-Raman spectroscopy. By comparison with model compounds, it can be deduced that beta-bromostyrene with a predominantly trans configuration gave rise to primarily cis conformational unsaturation at the polystyrene chain-end.