Ulusal Travma Ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi-Turkish Journal of Trauma & Emergency Surgery最新文献

Background: The aim of this study is to apply random forest (RF), one of the machine learning (ML) algorithms, to a dataset consisting of patients with a presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AAp) and to reveal the most important factors associated with the diagnosis of AAp based on the variable importance.

Methods: An open-access dataset comparing two patient groups with (n=40) and without (n=44) AAp to predict biomarkers for AAp was used for this case-control study. RF was used for modeling the data set. The data were divided into two training and test dataset (80: 20). Accuracy, balanced accuracy (BC), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) performance metrics were appraised for model performance.

Results: Accuracy, BC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and F1 scores pertaining to the RF model were 93.8%, 93.8%, 87.5%, 100%, 100%, 88.9%, and 93.3%, respectively. Following the variable importance values regarding the model, the variables most associated with the diagnosis and prediction of AAp were fecal calprotectin (100 %), radiological imaging (89.9%), white blood test (51.8%), C-reactive protein (47.1%), from symptoms onset to the hospital visit (19.3%), patients age (18.4%), alanine aminotransferase levels >40 (<1%), fever (<1%), and nausea/vomiting (<1%), respectively.

Conclusion: A prediction model was developed for AAp with the ML method in this study. Thanks to this model, biomarkers that predict AAp with high accuracy were determined. Thus, the decision-making process of clinicians for diagnosing AAp will be facilitated, and the risks of perforation and unnecessary operations will be minimized thanks to the timely diagnosis with high accuracy.

Background: In the sport of arm wrestling, the great rotational force is applied to the upper extremity, which can result in muscle and tendon injuries in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints, and even bone fractures. The aim of this study was to present the treatment modalities, functional outcomes, and return to sport after arm wrestling injuries.

Methods: A retrospective evaluation was made of the trauma mechanisms, treatment modalities, clinical outcomes, and time of return to sports of patients admitted to our hospital with an arm wrestling injury between 2008 and 2020. At the final follow-up examination, the functional scores (DASH score and constant score) of the patients were evaluated.

Results: Evaluation was made of 22 patients comprising 18 (82%) males and 4 (18%) females with a mean age of 20±6.1 years (range, 12-33 years). Two (10%) patients were professional arm wrestlers. The DASH scores at the final follow-up (mean 4 years) examination were 0.57 (min: 0 and max: 1.7) for the patients with humerus shaft fracture. All the patients with isolated soft-tissue injuries returned to sports within 1 month. Patients with humeral shaft fractures returned to sports later and had a lower functional score (P<0.05). There was no disability in any patient during long-term follow-up. Patients with soft-tissue injuries continued arm wrestling more than patients with bone injuries (P<0.001).

Conclusion: This study constitutes the largest patient series evaluating patients presenting at a health-care institution with any complaint after arm wrestling. Arm wrestling is not a sport that only results in bone pathologies. Therefore, providing the participants in this sport with information that they may be injured in arm wrestling but there will be a full recovery, may reassure and encourage them.

Background: Acute mesenteric ischemia is a serious condition with high mortality rate, resulting internal organ damage and intestinal necrosis due to sudden occlusion in the arteries feeding the abdominal solid organs and intestines. The most common causes of acute mesenteric artery ischemia are embolic processes and thrombosis that develops on the basis of primary mesenteric artery atherosclerosis. Whole blood viscosity (WBV) was defined by De Simon and could be calculated with a formula that consists of total plasma protein and hematocrit (HCT). In our study, we aimed to investigate the predictive value of WBV for acute mesenteric ischemia caused by primary mesenteric artery occlusion.

Methods: Between January 2015 and February 2021, a total of 55 patients with a retrospective diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) and 50 healthy volunteers as a control group were included in the study. WBV was calculated with the De Simon for-mula using the HCT and plasma protein levels from the blood tests of healthy volunteers and patients at the time of admission with acute abdomen.

Results: No significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline demographic characteristics except the preva-lence of age (72.1±12.4 vs. 65.7±6.4; p<0.001) and hypertension (40% vs. 23% p=0.002). AMI patients had significantly higher WBV values both at low shear rate (LSR) ([46.3±21.7 vs. 33.4±±13.1, p<0.001] and high shear rate [HSR] [16.5±11 vs. 15.8±0.7, p<0.001]). The univariate analysis identified several variables for predicting AMI including age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.066 confidence interval [CI]: 1.023-1.111, p=0.003), hypertension (OR: 3.612 CI: 1.564-8.343, p=0.003), WBV at HSR (OR: 2.074 CI: 1.193-3.278, p=0.002), and WBV at LSR (OR: 2.156 CI: 1.331-3.492, p=0.002). However, after multivariate analysis, only hypertension (OR: 3.537 CI: 1.298-9.639, p=0.014) and age (OR: 1.085 CI: 1.026-1.147, p=0.004) showed significance. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, a cut-off value of 43.5 WBV for LSR had a 72% sensitivity and a 70% specificity for prediction of mesenteric ischemia patients (area under curve [AUC]: 0.743, p<0.001) and a cut-off value of 16.29 WBV for HSR had a 78% sensitivity and 76% specificity for prediction of mesen-teric ischemia patients (AUC: 0.773, p<0.001).

Conclusion: In our study, we determined that the WBV value obtained with the De Simon formula is a valuable parameter in predicting the development of acute mesenteric artery ischemia caused by primary mesenteric artery occlusion.

Background: Patients with intermediate-high risk pulmonary embolism (PE) who have acute right ventricular dysfunction and myocardial injury without overt hemodynamic compromise may be candidates for thrombolytic therapy (TT). In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of low-dose prolonged TT and unfractionated heparin (UFH) in intermediate-high risk PE patients.

Methods: This study enrolled 83 (female: 45 [54.2%], mean age: 70.07±10.7 years) retrospectively evaluated patients with the diagnosis of acute PE who were treated with low-dose and slow-infusion of TT or UFH. The primary outcomes of the study were de-fined as a combination of death from any cause and hemodynamic decompensation, and severe or life-threatening bleeding. Secondary endpoints were recurrent PE, pulmonary hypertension, and moderate bleeding.

Results: The initial management strategy of intermediate-high risk PE was TT in 41 (49.4%) patients and UFH in 42 (50.6%) cases. Low-dose prolonged TT was successful in all patients. While the frequency of hypotension decreased significantly after TT (22 vs. 0%, P<0.001), it did not decrease after UFH (2.4 vs. 7.1%, p=0.625). The proportion of hemodynamic decompensation was significantly lower in the TT group (0 vs. 11.9%, p=0.029). The rate of secondary endpoints was significantly higher in the UFH group (2.4 vs. 19%, P=0.016). Moreover, the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension was significantly higher in UFH group (0 vs. 19%, p=0.003).

Conclusion: Prolonged TT regimen with low dose, slow infusion of tissue plasminogen activator was found to be associated with a lower risk of hemodynamic decompensation and pulmonary hypertension in patients with acute intermediate-high-risk PE compared to UFH.

Background: This study aims to describe the functional outcome of true and equivalent Monteggia fracture-dislocations in the pediatric population. We also provided a review of the literature about the treatment options.

Methods: Five surgically and three conservatively treated patients were identified who were treated in 2009-2021. The study pop-ulation consisted of six female and two male patients. The mean age at the time of treatment was 7. The mean follow-up time was 55 months (range, 12-128). The Mayo Elbow Performance Score and the Oxford Elbow Score were used for outcome evaluation. Range of motion and grip strengths were also evaluated.

Results: There were two Bado type 1 and six Monteggia equivalent injuries. Closed reduction and casting were utilized for the two Bado type 1 injuries as the initial treatment. However, one had a radial head re-dislocation and had to be treated operatively. This patient had a radial head re-dislocation after the surgery and was followed up conservatively. Three Monteggia equivalent injuries were treated with closed reduction and casting, with no complications. One patient had a radial head anterior dislocation with plastic deformation of the ulna, and this patient was managed with CORA-based corrective ulnar osteotomy. For Monteggia injuries, the main treatment objective is to restore the ulnar length. Bilateral computed tomography imaging with 3D reconstruction can be utilized in preoperative planning of Monteggia fracture-dislocations to customize the treatment. Close observation is essential to detect radial head subluxation, which needs early intervention before irreversible changes occur.

Conclusion: The true/equivalent Monteggia fractures' main treatment goal is to restore the ulnar length. Conservative treatment, with a close follow-up, is the first option if closed reduction can be achieved. If closed reduction is not possible, careful preop-erative planning and early rehabilitation are key to success for management of Monteggia fractures.

Background: Duodenal ulcer perforation is a serious condition. A number of methods have been defined and used in surgical treatment. In this study, it was aimed to compare the effectiveness of 'primary repair' and 'drain placement without repair' methods in duodenal perforations using an animal model.

Methods: Three equivalent groups of ten rats each were formed. Perforation was created in the duodenum in the first (primary repair/sutured group) and the second group (drain placement without repair/sutureless drainage group). In the first group, the per-foration was repaired with sutures. In the second group, only a drain was placed in the abdomen without sutures. In the third group (control group), only laparotomy was performed. Neutrophil count, sedimentation, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum total an-tioxidant capacity (TAC), serum total thiol, serum native thiol, and serum myeloperoxidase (MPO) analyses were performed on animal subjects in the pre-operative period and on the post-operative 1st and 7th days. Histological and immunohistochemical (transforming growth factor-beta 1 [TGF-β1]) analyzes were performed. Blood analysis, histological, and immunohistochemical findings obtained from the groups were compared statistically.

Results: There was no significant difference between the first and second groups, except for the TAC on the post-operative 7th day and MPO values on the post-operative 1st day (P>0.05). Although tissue healing was more pronounced in the second group than in the first group, there was no significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). TGF-β1 immunoreactivity observed in the second group was found to be significantly higher than in the first group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: We think that the sutureless drainage method is as effective as the primary repair method in the treatment of duo-denal ulcer perforation and can be safely applied as an alternative to the primary repair method. However, further studies are needed to fully determine the efficacy of the sutureless drainage method.

Background: This study aimed to determine injury patterns in ground level falls (GLFs) and investigate the effect of age on the severity of injury.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 4,712 patients who presented to a Level 1 trauma center due to GLFs and analyzed the data of 1,214 patients who underwent computed tomography (CT). Demographics, torso examination findings, and injuries detected on CT were recorded. To investigate the effect of age on injury severity, the patients were grouped as those aged <65 and ≥65 years.

Results: The mean age was 57 years, and 55.20% of the patients were female. The mortality rate was 0.50%. Injury was detected in 489 (40.30%) patients on CT. Fractures were the most common injury type. Traumatic intracranial hemorrhage was detected in 32 (2.60%) patients. Only three (0.20%) of the 63 patients with rib fractures had concomitant lung injury. The negative predictive value of the physical examination (PE) was 95.80% for chest injury. Intra-abdominal injury was not detected in any of the 116 patients who underwent abdominal CT. Hospitalization was also higher in the ≥65-year group (p<0.001). All mortalities (n=6) were seen in patients aged ≥65 years.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that GLFs cause more injuries in the elderly, resulting in more hospitalizations and mortality. Normal PE findings may reduce the need for whole-body CT in GLF patients who are conscious, cooperative, and oriented.

Background: Hand burn trauma occurs quite commonly and the outcome of hand burns can significantly impact self-care daily function, work and employment, leisure activities, and overall health-related quality of life. The overall goal of the management of hand burn trauma is to optimize hand function. Rehabilitation and restoration of hand function are critical for the patient's independence and re-integration into society and work. The purpose of this study is to present our experience with 105 hand burn trauma patients admitted and treated in our burn center and to show the efficacy of early rehabilitation on their ability to return to their prior social life and work.

Methods: In our study, we included that 105 patients with acute severe hand burn trauma were hospitalized in Gulhane burn center between 2017 and 2021. They underwent rehabilitation program daily sessions. Patients with hand burns are evaluated by ranges of motions (ROM), grip strength, Cochin Hand Function Scale (CHFS), and Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ) 12 months after the injury.

Results: Overall, mean digital total active motion were >180°. The mean values for grip strength of dominant hand for men were 27.2±9.3 kg, for women were 22.0±8.8 kg and non-dominant hand for men were 24.05±13.8 kg, for women were 17.8±10.3 kg. Total score of 5 items was 19.0 in CHFS. The mean overall score on the MHQ was 62.3±27.4. All obtained data were within normal or accepted functional ranges. Spearman correlation coefficient indicates a negative correlation between MHQ and CHFS (p≤0.01).

Conclusion: A comprehensive rehabilitation program is essential in helping patients to regain optimal function after hand burn trauma. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy is most beneficial when started at the time of admission.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all aspects of clinical care including diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancers (CRCs) globally, including in Türkiye. During the initial peak of the pandemic, elective surgeries and outpatient clinics were restricted in addition to the government-imposed lockdown, resulting in a decrease in the number of colonoscopies being performed and patients admitted to inpatient wards for treatment of CRCs. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the pandemic has affected presentation characteristics and outcomes of obstructive colorectal cancer in this period.

Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study based on all CRC adenocarcinoma patients that underwent surgical resection in a high-volume tertiary referral center in Istanbul, Türkiye. Patients were divided into two groups before and after 15 months of identification of 'patient-zero' in Türkiye (March 18, 2020). Patient demographics, initial presentation characteristics, clin-ical outcomes, and pathological cancer stages were compared.

Results: Overall, 215 patients underwent resection for CRC adenocarcinoma during 30 months (COVID era: 107, pre-COVID era: 108). Patient characteristics, tumor location, and clinical staging were comparable between two groups. During the COVID period, the number of obstructive CRCs (P<0.01) and emergency presentations (P<0.01) increased significantly compared to the respective pre-COVID period. However, there were no differences between 30-day morbidity, mortality, and pathological outcomes (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Although the results of our study indicate a significant increase in emergency presentation and a decrease in elective admissions of CRCs during the pandemic, patients treated during the COVID period were not at a significant disadvantage in terms of post-operative outcomes. Further efforts should be made to decrease risks related to an emergency presentation of CRCs for future adverse events.

Background: Damage control laparotomy allows for resuscitation and reversal of coagulopathy with improved mortality. In-tra-abdominal packing is often used to limit hemorrhage. Temporary abdominal closure is associated with increased rates of subse-quent intra-abdominal infection. The effect of increased duration of antibiotics is unknown on these infection rates. We sought to determine the role of antibiotics in damage control surgery.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all trauma patients requiring damage control laparotomy on admission to an ACS verified level one trauma center from 2011 to 2016 was performed. Demographic and clinical data including ability and time to attain primary fascial closure, as well as complication rates, were recorded. The primary outcome measure was intra-abdominal abscess formation following damage control laparotomy.

Results: Two-hundred and thirty-nine patients underwent DCS during the study period. A majority were packed (141/239, 59.0%). No differences existed in demographics or injury severity between groups, and infection rates were similar (30.5% vs. 38.8%, P=0.18). Patients with infection were more likely to have suffered gastric injury (23.3% vs. 6.1%, P=0.003) than those without complication. There was no significant association between gram negative and anaerobic (Odds Radio [OR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87-1.05) or antifungal therapy (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.74-1.31) and infection rate, regardless of duration on multivariate regression CONCLUSION: Our study offers the first review of the effect of antibiotic duration on intra-abdominal complications following DCS. Gastric injury was more commonly identified in patients who developed intra-abdominal infection. Duration of antimicrobial therapy does not affect infection rate in patients who are packed following DCS.