Use of an Electronic Referral Application to Address Post-Injury Needs of Victims of Firearm Injury in a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program.

Background: Wraparound referrals are a cornerstone of hospital-based violence intervention programs, which have proven to be an effective public health approach for mitigating violence and recidivism. We hypothesized that replacing a manual referral process with an electronic referral application would increase the number of generated referrals and improve compliance with follow-up visits.

Study Design: The population for this single center quantitative study was a convenience sample of firearm-injured patients.

An in-depth look at ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma patients and efforts to increase bundle compliance, education and documentation in a surgical trauma critical care unit.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is considered the most common hospital acquired infection seen in critical care settings and leading cause of death in Intensive Care Units (ICU). The objective of this study was to assess whether specimen collection impacted diagnosis and if implementation of a VAP bundle would decrease rates at our center.

Methods: This single center study design is a retrospective chart review from 2017 to 2020 utilizing the electronic medical record.

The Presence of Nucleated Red Blood Cells as an Indicator for Increased Mortality and Morbidity in Burn Patients.

Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) have been studied in critically ill and injured patients as a predictor of increased in-hospital mortality and poor clinical outcomes. While prior studies have demonstrated the prognostic power of NRBCs in the critical patient, there has been a paucity of literature available describing their value as a prognostic indicator in the severely burned patient. This retrospective observational study was conducted from 2012 to 2017.

A complex genitourinary injury following gunshot in a 12 Year old and systematic review.

We highlight the case of a 12 year old male who presented after sustaining a gunshot injury to the scrotum resulting in testicular, prostatic, and urethral transection in addition to pelvic fracture, extra peritoneal bladder injury, and transmural injury to recto sigmoid and ileum. The patient underwent a left orchiectomy, primary repair of the bladder and urethra, placement of universal plate on superior pubic rami, and segmental rectosigmoid and ileum resection. These findings illustrate the collaborative efforts of trauma surgery and urology to treat complex lower genitourinary (GU) injuries and how the direct prioritization of surgical efforts provides acceptable outcomes.

A nerve guidance conduit with topographical and biochemical cues: potential application using human neural stem cells.

Despite major advances in the pathophysiological understanding of peripheral nerve damage, the treatment of nerve injuries still remains an unmet medical need. Nerve guidance conduits present a promising treatment option by providing a growth-permissive environment that 1) promotes neuronal cell survival and axon growth and 2) directs axonal extension. To this end, we designed an electrospun nerve guidance conduit using a blend of polyurea and poly-caprolactone with both biochemical and topographical cues.

Biomimetic poly(serinol hexamethylene urea) for promotion of neurite outgrowth and guidance.

Nerve function recovery is a major technical challenge in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from severe neuropathies. Facilitating functional recovery requires the creation of a growth-permissive environment that directs the extension and myelination of surviving neurons. To this end, an electrospun nanofiber scaffold composed of arginine-glycine-aspartate-modified poly(serinol hexamethylene urea)-blend-poly-ε-caprolactone (PSHU-RGD/PCL) has been employed.