Falls from Tree Stands Have Become the Leading Cause of Deer Hunting Accidents in Pennsylvania.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe, using a statewide trauma registry, the incidence, trends, and injuries for tree stand falls while deer hunting in Pennsylvania.

Methods: Falls from tree stands were abstracted from the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation registry (1990-2017) and combined with the number of licensed deer hunters, deer hunting days, and deer hunting-related shooting incidents (HRSIs) provided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to calculate tree stand fall and HRSI rates (per 1 million deer hunting days) and age-group specific fall rates (per 100,000 licensed deer hunters). Poisson regression was used to assess the significance of the annual and age group rate trends (significance 0.

Valproic acid as an adjuvant analgesic: adult Fanconi syndrome.

We report an 80-year-old woman who developed severe hypophosphataemia and elevated urinary phosphate levels while started on valproic acid. This occurred within 1-2 days of starting valproic acid. There are rare single-patient reports of the association of valproic acid with adult Fanconi syndrome.

The Effect of Sarcopenia on Outcomes in Geriatric Blunt Trauma.

Elderly patients are at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality after trauma, which is reflected through higher frailty indices. Data collection using existing frailty indices is often not possible because of brain injury, dementia, or inability to communicate with the patient. Sarcopenia is a reliable objective measure for frailty that can be readily assessed in CT imaging.

The Effect of Interhospital Transfers on the Outcome of Rural Trauma.

Urban areas house the majority of the population in the United States but trauma deaths occur more commonly in rural areas. In this study, we aimed to investigate if direct patient admission to a Level I trauma center improves outcomes in rural trauma. We retrospectively reviewed data in our trauma database from January 2008 to the end of December 2012 to compare the overall outcomes between direct admissions (DAs) and interhospital transfers (IHTs).

Changes in rural trauma prehospital times following the Rural Trauma Team Development Course training.

Background: The majority of the US population live in urban areas, yet more than half of all trauma deaths occur in rural areas. The Rural Trauma Team Development Course (RTTDC) is developed to improve the outcomes of rural trauma and we aimed to study its effect on patient transfer.

Methods: Trauma referrals 2 years before the RTTDC training were compared with referrals 2 years after the course.

Utility of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Nonoperative Facial Fractures.

Facial fractures are commonly managed nonoperatively. Patients with facial fractures involving sinus cavities commonly receive 7 to 10 days of prophylactic antibiotics, yet no literature exists to support or refute this practice. The aim of this study was to compare the administration and duration of antibiotic prophylaxis on the incidence of soft tissue infection in nonoperative facial fractures.

Hemodynamically unstable pelvic fracture management by advanced trauma life support guidelines results in high mortality.

The purpose of this study was to examine the acute outcomes and mortality rates of an Advanced Trauma Life Support guideline approach for managing hemodynamically unstable pelvic ring injuries. We retrospectively reviewed the acute outcomes of 48 consecutive patients with hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures. Patients underwent treatment via the advanced trauma life support protocol, with primary angiography based on trauma surgeon preference.