Publications by authors named "Seamon M"

Background: Lack of insurance after traumatic injury is associated with decreased use of postacute care and poor outcomes. Insurance linkage programs enroll eligible patients in Medicaid at the time of an unplanned admission. We hypothesized that Medicaid enrollment would be associated with increased use of postacute care, but also with prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS) while awaiting insurance authorization.

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Introduction: The utility of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for high-grade traumatic injuries remains unclear and data surrounding its use are limited. We hypothesized that PD does not result in improved outcomes when compared with non-PD surgical management of grade IV-V pancreaticoduodenal injuries.

Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter analysis from 35 level 1 trauma centers from January 2010 to December 2020.

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Background: Chronic pain following traumatic stress exposure (TSE) is common. Increasing evidence suggests inflammatory/immune mechanisms are induced by TSE, play a key role in the recovery process versus development of post-TSE chronic pain, and are sex specific. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with chronic pain after TSE in a sex-specific manner.

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  • This study investigates how early social support after trauma affects PTSD symptoms over time and explores specific brain regions involved in this process, such as the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
  • Using data from 315 participants in the AURORA study, researchers measured PTSD symptoms and perceived emotional support at multiple time points, while also conducting neuroimaging two weeks post-trauma.
  • The results show that early emotional support is linked to changes in white matter connectivity between key brain areas, but it also highlighted unexpected increased threat reactivity in the default mode network, suggesting complex neural pathways in response to social threats.
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  • - The study explored the use of wrist-wearable devices to track heart rate variability (HRV) as potential biomarkers for recovery from adverse neuropsychiatric effects following traumatic events, specifically in a socioeconomically disadvantaged group.
  • - Researchers monitored participants within 72 hours of a traumatic event and over a course of 6 months, validating HRV characteristics linked to various posttraumatic symptoms, such as pain, re-experiencing, and anxiety.
  • - The findings indicate that changes in HRV could effectively predict improvements or worsening in symptoms, suggesting that these wearable technologies could serve as useful screening tools for identifying posttraumatic stress in high-risk populations.
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  • - The study investigates sex/gender differences in PTSD by examining 16 risk factors and their impact on PTSD severity in a group of 2,924 acutely traumatized individuals.
  • - It finds that six risk factors are more prevalent in women, while none are more pronounced in men, highlighting unique pathways contributing to PTSD severity based on sex assigned at birth.
  • - The results indicate different risk mechanisms for men and women, suggesting that understanding these differences can help develop targeted mental health interventions and inform future research on other mental disorders.
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  • Trauma can increase the risk of unhealthy alcohol use, and this study investigates how brain reward systems change after trauma exposure in humans.
  • The research involved 286 participants who were assessed for changes in alcohol use and brain activity through fMRI shortly after experiencing trauma.
  • Findings suggest that heightened brain activity in specific regions (like the VTA) and altered connections between brain areas may lead to increased alcohol consumption following traumatic events, indicating potential targets for early intervention.
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Background: Injured patients have high rates of uninsurance, which is associated with worse outcomes. Insurance linkage programs that connect patients to Medicaid coverage can prevent catastrophic costs for patients. Less is known about the long-term impact of insurance enrollment.

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Importance: Research on resilience after trauma has often focused on individual-level factors (eg, ability to cope with adversity) and overlooked influential neighborhood-level factors that may help mitigate the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Objective: To investigate whether an interaction between residential greenspace and self-reported individual resources was associated with a resilient PTSD trajectory (ie, low/no symptoms) and to test if the association between greenspace and PTSD trajectory was mediated by neural reactivity to reward.

Design, Setting, And Participants: As part of a longitudinal cohort study, trauma survivors were recruited from emergency departments across the US.

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Background: Racial disparities in firearm injury death in the United States are well established. Less is known about the magnitude of nonfatal and total firearm injury.

Objective: To combine health care data with death certificate data to estimate total firearm injuries in various racial and ethnic groups.

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The neurocardiac circuit is integral to physiological regulation of threat and trauma-related responses. However, few direct investigations of brain-behavior associations with replicable physiological markers of PTSD have been conducted. The current study probed the neurocardiac circuit by examining associations among its core regions in the brain (e.

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Introduction: Few states established assault weapon bans (AWBs) after the federal AWB expired. The effectiveness of state AWBs as well as neighboring state legislation, in reducing the local prevalence of assault weapons (AWs) or in reducing overall shooting lethality is unknown.

Methods: We queried the Gun Violence Archive (2014-2021) to identify US firearm injuries and fatalities.

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Background: Knowledge of sex differences in risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can contribute to the development of refined preventive interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if women and men differ in their vulnerability to risk factors for PTSD.

Methods: As part of the longitudinal AURORA study, 2924 patients seeking emergency department (ED) treatment in the acute aftermath of trauma provided self-report assessments of pre- peri- and post-traumatic risk factors, as well as 3-month PTSD severity.

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Background: Retained hemothorax (rHTX) requiring intervention occurs in up to 20% of patients who undergo chest tube (TT) placement for a hemothorax (HTX). Thoracic irrigation at the time of TT placement decreases the need for secondary intervention in this patient group but those findings are limited because of the single-center design. A multicenter study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of thoracic irrigation.

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  • Patients with duodenal leaks (DL) who received enteral nutrition (EN) experienced shorter time to leak closure, fewer infectious complications, and reduced hospital stays compared to those receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) or a combination of both.
  • The study analyzed data from 113 patients across 35 trauma centers, highlighting that EN patients had significantly fewer days without oral intake and less severe complications.
  • The findings suggest that EN is a preferable nutritional strategy for DL patients, as it promotes quicker recovery and fewer hospital-related issues.
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There are significant challenges to identifying which individuals require intervention following exposure to trauma, and a need for strategies to identify and provide individuals at risk for developing PTSD with timely interventions. The present study seeks to identify a minimal set of trauma-related symptoms, assessed during the weeks following traumatic exposure, that can accurately predict PTSD. Participants were 2185 adults (Mean age=36.

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Introduction: Organized trauma systems reduce morbidity and mortality after serious injury. Rapid transport to high-level trauma centers is ideal, but not always feasible. Thus, interhospital transfers are an important component of trauma systems.

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Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis) are highly comorbid. Many factors affect this relationship, including sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, other prior traumas, and physical health. However, few prior studies have investigated this prospectively, examining new substance use and the extent to which a wide range of factors may modify the relationship to PTSD.

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Background: Females are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males. Impaired inhibition has been identified as a mechanism for PTSD development, but studies on potential sex differences in this neurobiological mechanism and how it relates to PTSD severity and progression are relatively rare. Here, we examined sex differences in neural activation during response inhibition and PTSD following recent trauma.

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This study examines the association between brain dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) and current/future posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom severity, and the impact of sex on this relationship. By analyzing 275 participants' dFNC data obtained ~2 weeks after trauma exposure, we noted that brain dynamics of an inter-network brain state link negatively with current (r=-0.179, = 0.

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Background: Although several society guidelines exist regarding emergency department thoracotomy (EDT), there is a lack of data upon which to base guidance for multiple gunshot wound (GSW) patients whose injuries include a cranial GSW. We hypothesized that survival in these patients would be exceedingly low.

Methods: We used Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study data, 2002 to 2021, and included EDTs for GSWs.

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Patients exposed to trauma often experience high rates of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS). The biological mechanisms promoting APNS are currently unknown, but the microbiota-gut-brain axis offers an avenue to understanding mechanisms as well as possibilities for intervention. Microbiome composition after trauma exposure has been poorly examined regarding neuropsychiatric outcomes.

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Background: Prior sexual trauma (ST) is associated with greater risk for posttraumatic stress disorder after a subsequent traumatic event; however, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain opaque. We investigated longitudinal posttraumatic dysfunction and amygdala functional dynamics following admission to an emergency department for new primarily nonsexual trauma in participants with and without previous ST.

Methods: Participants ( = 2178) were recruited following acute trauma exposure (primarily motor vehicle collision).

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