Sternal Fractures in Blunt Chest Trauma: Retrospective Analysis of 330 Cases.

Objective: To analyse the range of injuries associated with sternal fracture (SF) and their clinical features and outcomes.

Study Design: Observational study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey, from July 2010 to July 2020.

Role of ultrasound simulators in the training for Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST).

Background: The present study aims to investigate the efficacy of ultrasound simulators in the training of the health staff working in the emergency department of a university hospital on Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST).

Methods: This study was conducted on emergency medicine residents, medical interns and paramedics of the emergency department of Selçuk University Medical Faculty, prospectively. The participants were given theoretical and practical training on FAST using the SonoSim® USG simulator.

Dyspnoea and chest pain as the presenting symptoms of pneumomediastinum: two cases and a review of the literature.

Pneumomediastinum is the presence of air in the mediastinum. It may occur as spontaneous, traumatic, or iatrogenic pneumomediastinum. Although spontaneous pneumomediastinum is usually observed in healthy young men, traumatic pneumomediastinum may be caused by blunt or penetrating trauma to the chest and neck.

Red cell distribution width and neurological scoring systems in acute stroke patients.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between the red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS), and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores in patients who had acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: This prospective observational cohort study included 88 patients who have had acute ischemic stroke and a control group of 40 patients who were evaluated in the Emergency Department for disorders other than acute ischemic stroke. All subjects had RDW determined, and stroke patients had scoring with the GCS, CNS, and NIHSS scores.

Causes of poisoning in patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey.

Objectives: To evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with poisoning at a community hospital.

Methods: The retrospective study comprised records of patients who were admitted to the emergency department of Konya Numune Hospital, Turkey, because of poisoning between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2011. Data was evaluated for age, gender, educational status, occupation, arrival time, mechanism of intoxication , body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale score, treatment applied, duration of hospital stay, duration of follow-up, test results, final diagnosis, clinical disposition, and outcome.

Neuroprotective effects of sildenafil in experimental spinal cord injury in rabbits.

Neuroprotective agents such as methylprednisolone and sildenafil may limit damage after spinal cord injury. We evaluated the effects of methylprednisolone and sildenafil on biochemical and histologic changes after spinal cord injury in a rabbit model. Female New Zealand rabbits (32 rabbits) were allocated to 4 equal groups: laminectomy only (sham control) or laminectomy and spinal trauma with no other treatment (trauma control) or treatment with either methylprednisolone or sildenafil.

Cerebrovascular ischaemia after carbon monoxide intoxication.

Carbon monoxide intoxication is the most prevalent cause of death from carbon monoxide poisoning. We herein report the case of a 56-year-old man who was found unconscious and smelled of smoke after exposure to carbon monoxide from a heater. He scored 5 on the Glasgow Coma Scale, and had respiratory insufficiency and elevated troponin I, creatine kinase-MB fraction and carboxyhaemoglobin levels.

Traumatic pneumorrhachis: 2 cases and review of the literature.

The presence of air in the spinal canal is known as pneumorrhachis (PNR), aerorachia, intraspinal pneumocele, pneumosaccus, pneumomyelogra, or intraspinal air. Pneumorrhachis may be iatrogenic, traumatic, and nontraumatic. We treated 2 patients who had posttraumatic PNR in the cervical spine region after stab injuries.

Hemolysis associated with pneumatic tube system transport for blood samples.

Objective: The frequency of hemolysis of blood samples may be increased by transport in a pneumatic tube system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pneumatic tube system transport on hemolysis of blood samples.

Methods: Blood samples were transported from the emergency department to the hospital laboratory manually by hospital staff (49 patients) or with a pneumatic tube system (53 patients).

Trauma in elderly patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey: a retrospective study.

Purpose: Trauma is a common cause of admission to the hospital emergency department. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cause of admission, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients aged ≥65 years admitted to an emergency department in Turkey because of blunt trauma.

Materials And Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 568 patients (314 women and 254 men) aged ≥65 years who were admitted to an emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.

Seizures after overdoses of bupropion intake.

Background: Bupropion is a new-generation monocyclic antidepressant that has been accidentally found to have potential effects on reducing nicotine addiction. It is structurally similar to stimulants such as amphetamine and inhibits dopamine and noradrenalin reuptake selectively.

Case Reports: We report two cases with no history of epilepsy who took oral bupropion for depression and had generalised tonic-clonic type of seizures in their follow-ups.