Publications by authors named "Timothy Light"

Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are evidence-based treatments, yet can be controversial among some populations. This study provides a systematic review of prejudice and discrimination toward MOUD, a form of "intervention stigma," or stigma associated with a particular medical treatment. A systematic search strategy was used in PsychInfo and PubMed to identify studies published between 1998 and 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The incidence of hospital-associated infections secondary to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and those caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) continue to increase, despite the publication of evidence-based guidelines on infection control. We sought to determine modifiable risks factors for acquisition of MRSA or VRE or both on a burn trauma unit (BTU). We performed a retrospective single-center-matched control study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Regional burn centers provide unique multidisciplinary care that has been associated with dramatically improved outcomes for burn victims. Patients with complex skin and soft tissue injuries are increasingly admitted to these centers for definitive care. This study was designed to assess current trends in burn center resource utilization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: Necrotizing fasciitis is an aggressive infection affecting the skin and soft tissue. It has a very high acute mortality. The long-term survival and cause of death of patients who survive an index hospitalization for necrotizing fasciitis are not known.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Administration of resuscitation volumes far beyond the estimates established by burn-body weight resuscitation formulas has been well documented. The reasons behind this increase are not clear. We sought to determine if our resuscitation volumes had increased and, if so, what factors were related to their increase.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The role of autopsy in evaluating missed injury after traumatic death is well established and discussed in the literature. The frequency of incidental findings in trauma patients has not been reported. We believe that incidental findings are under recognized and reported by trauma surgeons.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypothesis: The addition of drotrecogin alfa (DA), an anti-inflammatory useful in septic shock, to standard burn shock resuscitation fluids will protect burned, injured skin from further injury.

Methods: Anesthetized animals were subjected to a standardized burn pattern by applying a branding iron to 10 different locations on the back of the rat for 1 seconds to 14 seconds, creating a range of burn depths and severities.

Design: Animal burn shock and resuscitation model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Regional variations of care, and improved outcomes with larger volumes, have been well described in the medical and surgical literature for a variety of conditions including heart surgery, vascular surgery, and orthopedic surgery. Burn care has not been recently subjected to such an analysis. The National Burn Repository (NBR) contains de-identified patient and burn center data to allow this analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Unexpected intraoperative findings are not rare in surgical practice. Meckel's diverticulum with a mass is one such example. There are only two previously reported cases of Meckel's in transplantation, and neither involved pancreas transplant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Abuse by burning is estimated to occur in 1 to 25% of children admitted with burn injuries annually. Hair and urine toxicology for illicit drug exposure may provide additional confirmatory evidence for abuse. To determine the impact of hair and urine toxicology on the identification of child abuse, we performed a retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients admitted to our burn unit.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are significant healthcare-associated pathogens. We sought to identify factors that could be used to predict which patients carry or are infected with VRE or MRSA on admission so that we could obtain cultures selectively from high-risk patients on our burn-trauma unit. We conducted a case-control study of patients admitted to our burn-trauma unit from September 2000 to March 2005 who were colonized or infected with either VRE or MRSA (cases) and patients who were not colonized or infected with one of these organisms (controls).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The cellular processes that contribute to cell death in burns are poorly understood. This study evaluated the distribution and extent of apoptosis in an established rat model of acute dermal burn injury.

Materials And Methods: A branding iron (100 degrees C) was applied to the depilated dorsum of seven rats, creating burn contact times of 1-8, 10, 12, and 14 s.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Determination of burn severity (i.e. burn depth) is important for effective medical management and treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The autopsy has long been considered the gold standard for quality assurance review. Studies characterizing autopsies have been completed in large urban centers, but there is a paucity of research regarding autopsies at rural trauma centers. This is problematic considering that a majority of preventable trauma deaths occur in rural areas and death rates for unintentional injuries in rural populations are higher than urban populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Foreign medical service trips, though worthy, raise questions about efficacy, durability, and cultural sensitivity. A structured intervention by a multidisciplinary team can lead to sustained and integrated changes in the delivery of burn care. The American Burn Association, Children's Burn Foundation, and other donors have sponsored four interventions with the Pediatric Burn Center at Christian Medical Center in Vellore, India.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The American Burn Association, Children's Burn Foundation, and Christian Medical College in Vellore, India have partnered together to improve pediatric burn care in Southern India. We report the demographics and outcomes of burns in this center, and create a benchmark to measure the effect of the partnership. A comparison to the National Burn Repository is made to allow for generalization and assessment to other burn centers, and to control for known confounders such as burn size, age, and mechanism.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Insurance companies may reject claims because of inadequate documentation. Dictated notes or an electronic medical record provide an accurate and complete documentation of services. In a paper-based medical record system, significant amounts of professional fees are lost because the insurance companies reject claims without copies of the note.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The bilayered dermal substitute Integra (Integra Life Sciences Corp., Plainsboro, NJ) was developed and has been widely used as primary coverage for excised acute burns. Our take has been slightly different, finding it most useful in the management of complex soft-tissue loss and threatened extremities as the result of tendon, joint, or bone exposure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Marking the fifth year after the attack on the Pentagon, staff at the burn center in Washington, DC, memorialize in a contemplative frame of mind. These reflections are drawn from members of the extended burn team and render an interwoven sketch in prose that previously has not been heard.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Use of herbal and alternative medications in the United States is increasing. Many of these medications have unknown mechanisms of actions, and possible metabolic interactions with prescribed medications. We report a case of late acute rejection after exposure to two popular herbal medications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In the morbidly obese patient undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass (LGBP), insufflation with carbon dioxide to 20 mmHg for prolonged periods may induce significant hypercarbia and acidosis with attendant sequelae. We hypothesize that the use of helium as an insufflating agent results in less hypercarbia and acidosis.

Methods: The study was performed between May and November 2002.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF