Adrenal gland injury secondary to blunt traumatic mechanisms: a marker of overall injury severity.

Introduction: Adrenal gland injuries (AGI) are seen increasingly frequently owing to advances in modern imaging techniques. This study describes a series of patients with blunt AGI, with the emphasis on AGI as a marker of injury severity, CT-radiographic classification of AGI and associated injury patterns.

Material And Methods: A retrospective review of blunt trauma patients with AGI was performed.

The dead continue to teach the living: examining the role of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the setting of postmortem examinations.

High-resolution imaging methods are used more frequently in the setting of postmortem investigation. Used for some time in forensics, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are now being evaluated as complementary or even as alternative means of postmortem examination. We review briefly the history of autopsy and the reasons for the gradual decrease in autopsy rates.

Complications related to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes. A comprehensive clinical review.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has become the modality of choice for providing enteral access to patients who require long-term enteral nutrition. Although generally considered safe, PEG tube placement can be associated with many potential complications. This review describes a variety of PEG tube related complications as well as strategies for complication avoidance.

Cervical spine fractures in geriatric blunt trauma patients with low-energy mechanism: are clinical predictors adequate?

Background: Studies have identified clinical predictors to guide radiologic evaluation of the cervical spine in geriatric patients. We hypothesized that clinical predictors are not adequate in the identification of cervical spine fractures in geriatric blunt trauma patients with low-energy mechanism.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed on geriatric blunt trauma patients sustaining low-energy trauma from January 2000 to January 2006.

Application of vacuum-assisted therapy in postoperative ascitic fluid leaks: an integral part of multimodality wound management in cirrhotic patients.

Surgery in patients with hepatic cirrhosis and ascites is associated with significant morbidity, including poor wound healing. Postoperative management of abdominal and perineal wounds in these patients poses a unique challenge owing to increased intra-abdominal pressure, risk for peritonitis, and ascitic fluid leakage. Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy reportedly improves angiogenesis and epithelialization, controls bacterial contamination, and removes excess tissue fluid.