Journal of Trauma and Injury最新文献

Traumatic uterine rupture is uncommon but can be fatal and life-threatening for both the mother and infant. In addition to complications caused by trauma itself, such as pelvic fracture, gestational complications such as placental abruption, abortion, premature labor, rupture of membranes, maternal death, and stillbirth can occur. In particular, fetuses have been reported to have a high mortality rate in cases of traumatic uterine rupture. A 35-year-old pregnant female patient fell from the fourth floor and was admitted to our trauma center. We observed large hemoperitoneum, pelvic fractures, and spleen laceration, and the fetus was presumed to be located outside the uterus. The pregnant woman was hemodynamically unstable. Although the fetus was stillborn, angioembolization and surgical treatment were properly performed through collaboration with an interventional radiologist, obstetrician, and trauma surgeons. After two orthopedic operations, the patient was discharged after 34 days. This case report suggests the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of pregnant trauma patients.

Purpose: Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) is widely used in patients with flail chests, and several studies have reported the efficacy of SSRF even in multiple rib fractures. However, few reports have discussed the hardware failure (HF) of implanted plates. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients with HF after SSRF and further investigate the related factors.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of patients who underwent SSRF for multiple rib fractures at a level I trauma center in Korea between January 2014 and January 2021. We defined HF as the unintentional loosening of screws, dislocation, or breakage of the implanted plates. The baseline characteristics, surgical outcomes, and types of HF were assessed.

Results: During the study period, 728 patients underwent SSRF, of whom 80 (10.9%) were diagnosed with HF. The mean age of HF patients was 56.5±13.6 years, and 66 (82.5%) were men. There were 59 cases (73.8%) of screw loosening, 21 (26.3%) of plate breakage, 17 (21.3%) of screw migration, and seven (8.8%) of plate dislocation. Nine patients (11.3%) experienced wound infection, and 35 patients (43.8%) experienced chronic pain. A total of 21 patients (26.3%) underwent reoperation for plate removal. The patients in the reoperation group were significantly younger, had fewer fractures and plates, underwent costal fixation, and had a longer follow-up. There were no significant differences in subjective chest symptoms or lung capacity.

Conclusions: HF after SSRF occurred in 10.9% of the cases, and screw loosening was the most common. Further longitudinal studies are needed to identify risk factors for SSRF failure.

Fungal thrombophlebitis of the central vein is a rare, life-threatening disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It requires immediate central venous catheter removal and intravenous antifungal therapy, combined in some cases with either anticoagulation or aggressive surgical debridement. A 70-year-old male patient injured by a falling object weighing 1,000 kg was transferred to our hospital. A contained rupture of the abdominal aorta with retroperitoneal hematoma was treated with primary aortic repair, and a small bowel perforation with mesenteric laceration was treated with resection and anastomosis. After a computed tomography scan, the patient was diagnosed with thrombophlebitis of the left internal jugular vein and brachiocephalic vein. Despite antifungal treatment, fever and candidemia persisted. Therefore, emergency debridement and thrombectomy were performed. After the operation, the patient was treated with an oral antifungal agent and direct oral anticoagulants. During a 1-year follow-up, no signs of candidemia relapse were observed. There is no optimal timing of surgical treatment for relapsed fungal central thrombophlebitis. Surgical treatment should be considered for early recovery.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the risk factors associated with the severity of fall-related injuries among patients who suffered a fall from similar heights and analyze differences in injury sites according to intentionality and injury severity.

Methods: The Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance (EDIIS) data collected between 2019 and 2020 were used in this retrospective study. Patients with fall-related injuries who fell from a height of ≥6 and <9 m were included. Patients were categorized into the severe and mild/moderate groups according to their excessive mortality ratio-adjusted Injury Severity Score (EMR-ISS) and the intention and non-intention groups. Injury-related and outcome-related factors were compared between the groups.

Results: In total, 33,046 patients sustained fall-related injuries. Among them, 543 were enrolled for analysis. A total of 256 and 287 patients were included in the severe and mild/moderate groups, respectively, and 93 and 450 patients were included in the intention and non-intention groups, respectively. The median age was 50 years (range, 39-60 years) and 45 years (range, 27-56 years) in the severe and mild/moderate groups, respectively (P<0.001). In multivariable analysis, higher height (odds ratio [OR] 1.638; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.279-2.098) and accompanying foot injury (OR, 0.466; 95% CI, 0.263-0.828) were independently associated with injury severity (EMR-ISS ≥25) and intentionality of fall (OR, 0.722; 95% CI, 0.418-1.248) was not associated with injury severity. The incidence of forearm injuries was four (4.3%) and 58 cases (12.9%, P=0.018) and that of foot injuries was 20 (21.5%) and 54 cases (12.0%, P=0.015) in the intention versus non-intention groups, respectively.

Conclusions: Among patients who fell from a similar height, age, and fall height were associated with severe fall-related injuries. Intentionality was not related to injury severity, and patients with foot injury were less likely to experience serious injuries. Injuries in the lower and upper extremities were more common in intentional and unintentional falls, respectively.

Pancreatic trauma from a blunt injury is fairly uncommon in the pediatric population. Furthermore, such trauma with associated disruption of the pancreatic duct (PD) is even less prevalent and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Pancreatic injuries in the pediatric population are often missed and hence require a thorough workup in children presenting with any form of abdominal injury. This case report describes a young boy who presented with abdominal pain and did not initially inform medical staff about any injury. For this reason, his initial provisional diagnosis was appendicitis, but he was later found to have transection of the pancreas with injury to the PD on imaging. The management of such injuries in pediatric patients often poses a challenge due to a lack of pediatric physicians trained to perform interventions such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Furthermore, such interventions carry a higher risk when performed on children due to the smaller size of their pancreatic ducts. As a result, our patient had to be transferred to an adult center to undergo this procedure. Thus, maintaining a high degree of suspicion, along with a detailed history and examination, is crucial for the early diagnosis and management of pancreatic injuries.

Purpose: Blunt pancreatic trauma in pediatric patients is relatively rare, yet it is associated with high risks of morbidity and mortality This study aimed to review pediatric patients with blunt pancreatic trauma treated at a single center and provide treatment guidelines.

Methods: This study included patients under the age of 18 years who visited our center's pediatric emergency department and were diagnosed with pancreatic injury due to abdominal trauma via radiological examination between January 2007 and December 2022. Patients' medical records were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed.

Results: Among 107 patients with abdominal trauma, 14 had pancreatic injury, with a median age of 8.2 years (interquartile range, 3.1-12.3 years). Eight patients were male and six were female. The most common mechanism of injury was falls from a height and bicycle handlebars (four cases each). Six patients had associated injuries. Two patients had American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grade I or II, eight had grade III, and four had grade IV or V injuries. Eight patients underwent surgical resection, and four were discharged with only an intervention for duct injuries.

Conclusions: Patients with blunt pancreatic trauma at our center have been successfully treated with surgical modalities, and more recently through nonsurgical approaches involving active endoscopic and radiologic interventions.

Purpose: Out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) often has a poor prognosis despite rescue efforts. Although the incidence and mortality of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have increased, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has decreased in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the prehospital setting, immediate treatment of cardiac arrest is required without knowing the patient's COVID-19 status. Because COVID-19 is usually transmitted through the respiratory tract, airway management can put medical personnel at risk for infection. This study explored whether on-scene treatments involving CPR for TCA patients changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea.

Methods: This retrospective study used data from emergency medical services (EMS) run sheets in Gangwon Province from January 2019 to December 2021. Patients whose initial problem was cardiac arrest and who received CPR were included. Data in 2019 were classified as pre-COVID-19 and all subsequent data (from 2020 and 2021) as post-COVID-19. Age, sex, possible cause of cardiac arrest, and treatments including airway maneuvers, oropharyngeal airway (OPA) or i-gel insertion, endotracheal intubation (ETI), bag-valve mask (BVM) ventilation, intravenous (IV) line establishment, neck collar application, and wound dressing with hemostasis were investigated.

Results: During the study period, 2,007 patients received CPR, of whom 596 patients had TCA and 367 had disease-origin cardiac arrest (DCA). Among the patients with TCA, 192 (32.2%) were pre-COVID-19 and 404 (67.8%) were post-COVID-19. In the TCA group, prehospital treatments did not decrease. The average frequencies were 59.7% for airway maneuvers, 47.5% for OPA, 57.4% for BVM, and 51.3% for neck collar application. The rates of ETI, i-gel insertion, and IV-line establishment increased. The treatment rate for TCA was significantly higher than that for DCA.

Conclusions: Prehospital treatments by EMS workers for patients with TCA did not decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the rates of ETI, i-gel insertion, and IV-line establishment increased.

Ankle fractures with syndesmotic injuries often require fixation, where metal screw fixation is a popular method. However, as the patient begins weight-bearing, most syndesmotic screws tend to loosen or break, and removal of such screws has been challenging for the surgeons, as the available techniques require predrilling or trephination and are associated with risks of bone damage. This study presents a case with technical tip for the removal of broken tricortical-fixed non-cannulated syndesmotic screws. It implements the generation of a small cortical window in the medial distal tibia and the use of pliers to engage the screw tip and remove through the medial side. The technique presented in the current study overcomes these limitations and facilitates minimal bone damage and reduced exposure to radiation.

Purpose: Patients with penetrating injuries are at a high risk of mortality, and many of them require emergency surgery. Proper triage and transfer of the patient to the emergency department (ED), where immediate definitive treatment is available, is key to improving survival. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and outcomes of patients with penetrating torso injuries in Incheon Metropolitan City.

Methods: Data from trauma patients between 2014 and 2018 (5 years) were extracted from the National Emergency Department Information System. In this study, patients with penetrating injuries to the torso (chest and abdomen) were selected, while those with superficial injuries were excluded.

Results: Of 66,285 patients with penetrating trauma, 752 with injuries to the torso were enrolled in this study. In the study population, 345 patients (45.9%) were admitted to the ward or intensive care unit (ICU), 20 (2.7%) were transferred to other hospitals, and 10 (1.3%) died in the ED. Among the admitted patients, 173 (50.1%) underwent nonoperative management and 172 (49.9%) underwent operative management. There were no deaths in the nonoperative management group, but 10 patients (5.8%) died after operative management. The transferred patients showed a significantly longer time from injury to ED arrival, percentage of ICU admissions, and mortality. There were also significant differences in the percentage of operative management, ICU admissions, ED stay time, and mortality between hospitals.

Conclusions: Proper triage guidelines need to be implemented so that patients with torso penetrating trauma in Incheon can be transferred directly to the regional trauma center for definitive treatment.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the treatment results of patients with traumatic cardiac tamponade after the opening of Jeju Regional Trauma Center.

Methods: We analyzed the treatment outcomes of patients with traumatic cardiac tamponade who were treated at Jeju Regional Trauma Center from January 2018 to August 2022.

Results: Seven patients with traumatic cardiac tamponade were treated. The male to female ratio was 1.33:1 (four male and three female patients) and the average age was 60.3±7.2 years. The mechanism of injury was blunt trauma in six cases and penetrating injury in one case. Upon arrival at the emergency department, pericardiostomy was performed in four cases, and an emergency operation was performed in six cases. Pericardiostomy alone was performed in one patient, who had cardiac tamponade due to extrapericardial suprahepatic inferior vena cava rupture. The causes of cardiac tamponade were right atrium appendage rupture in one case, right ventricle rupture in one case, inferior vena cava rupture in two cases, right atrium and left atrium rupture in one case, both atria and left ventricle rupture in one case, and intercostal artery rupture in one case. In three cases, intraoperative cardiopulmonary bypass was required. Two of the seven patients died (mortality rate, 28.5%).

Conclusions: Relatively favorable treatment results were observed for traumatic cardiac tamponade patients after Jeju Regional Trauma Center was established.