This study investigated the clinical outcomes of trauma patients with blunt thoracic aortic injuries at a single institution.

During the study period, 9,501 patients with traumatic aortic injuries presented to Trauma Center of Gil Medical Center. Among them, 1,594 patients had severe trauma, with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of >15. Demographics, physiological data, injury mechanism, hemodynamic parameters associated with the thoracic injury according to chest computed tomography (CT) findings, the timing of the intervention, and clinical outcomes were reviewed.

Twenty-eight patients had blunt aortic injuries (75% male, mean age, 45.9±16.3 years). The majority (82.1%, n=23/28) of these patients were involved in traffic accidents. The median ISS was 35.0 (interquartile range 21.0–41.0). The injuries were found in the ascending aorta (n=1, 3.6%) aortic arch (n=8, 28.6%) aortic isthmus (n=18, 64.3%), and descending aorta (n=1, 3.6%). The severity of aortic injuries on chest CT was categorized as intramural hematoma (n=1, 3.6%), dissection (n=3, 10.7%), transection (n=9, 32.2%), pseudoaneurysm (n=12, 42.8%), and rupture (n=3, 10.7%). Endovascular repair was performed in 71.4% of patients (45% within 24 hours), and two patients received surgical management. The mortality rate was 25% (n=7).

Traumatic thoracic aortic injuries are life-threatening. In our experience, however, if there is no rupture and extravasation from an aortic injury, resuscitation and stabilization of vital signs are more important than an intervention for an aortic injury in patients with multiple traumas. Further study is required to optimize the timing of the intervention and explore management strategies for blunt thoracic aortic injuries in severe trauma patients needing resuscitation.

The present study aimed to analyze the effect of trauma-related shock on myocardial function in the early stages of trauma through transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) findings.

We performed a retrospective review and analysis of the medical records of patients aged ≥18 years who were evaluated by TTE within 2 days of admission for trauma-related shock (n=72). Patients were selected from a group of 739 patients admitted with trauma-related shock between January 2014 and December 2016.

The incidence rate of myocardial dysfunction in the left ventricle (LV) was 6.8% (5/72), with rates of 7.7% (4/52) in the thoracic injury group and 5.0% (1/20) in the non-thoracic injury group. In the diastolic function of LV, relaxation abnormality was present in 55.8% (29/52) of patients in the thoracic injury group and 50% (10/20) of patients in the non-thoracic injury group.

This study may suggest that traumatic shock without thoracic injury may influence myocardial function in the early stages after trauma. Therefore, evaluation of myocardial function may be needed for patients experiencing shock after trauma, regardless of the presence of thoracic injury.

Nutritional therapy in the intensive care unit is an essential factor for patient progress. The purpose of this study was to compare resting energy expenditure (REE) calculated by prediction equations (PEs) to the REE measured by indirect calorimetry (IC) in trauma patients.

Patients admitted to the trauma intensive care unit who received mechanical ventilation between January and December 2015 were enrolled. REE was measured by IC (CCM Express, MGC Diagnostics) and calculated by the following PEs: Harris-Benedict, Fleisch, Robertson and Reid, Ireton-Jones, and the maximum value (25 kcal/kg/ day) of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). All patients were ventilated at a fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) below 60%.

Of the 31 patients included in this study, 24 (77.4%) were men and seven (22.6%) were women. The mean age of the patients was 49.7±13.2 years, their mean weight was 68.1±9.6 kg, and their mean Injury Severity Score was 26.1±11.3. The mean respiratory quotient on IC was 0.93±0.19, and their mean FiO₂ was 38.72%±6.97%. The mean REE measured by IC was 2,146±444.36 kcal/day, and the mean REE values calculated by the PEs were 1,509.39±205.34 kcal/day by the Harris and Benedict equation, 1,509.39±154.33 kcal/day by the Fleisch equation, and 1,443.39±159.61 kcal/day by the Robertson and Reid equation. The Ireton-Jones equation yielded a higher value (2,278.90±202.35 kcal/ day), which was not significantly different from the value measured using IC (p=0.53). The ESPEN maximum value (1,704.03±449.36 kcal/day) was lower, but this difference was likewise not significant (p=0.127).

The REE measured by IC was somewhat higher than that calculated using PEs. Further studies are needed to determine the proper nutritional support for trauma patients.

Thoracic traumas represent 10?15% of all traumas and are responsible for 25% of all trauma mortalities. Traumatic cardiac injury (TCI) is one of the major causes of death in trauma patients, rarely present in living patients who are transferred to the hospital. TCI is a challenge for trauma surgeons as it provides a short therapeutic window and the management is often dictated by the underlying mechanism and hemodynamic status. This study is to describe our experiences about emergency cardiac surgery in TCI.

This is a retrospective clinical analysis of patients who had undergone emergency cardiac surgery in our trauma center from January 2014 to December 2016. Demographics, physiologic data, mechanism of injuries, the timing of surgical interventions, surgical approaches and outcomes were reviewed.

The number of trauma patients who arrived at our hospital during the study period was 9,501. Among them, 884 had chest injuries, 434 patients were evaluated to have over 3 abbreviated injury scale (AIS) about the chest. Cardiac surgeries were performed in 18 patients, and 13 (72.2%) of them were male. The median age was 47.0 years (quartiles 35.0, 55.3). Eleven patients (61.1%) had penetrating traumas. Prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitations (CPR) were performed in 4 patients (22.2%). All of them had undergone emergency department thoracotomy (EDT), and they were transferred to the operating room for definitive repair of the cardiac injury, but all of them expired in the intensive care unit. Most commonly performed surgical incision was median sternotomy (n=13, 72.2%). The majority site of injury was right ventricle (n=11, 61.1%). The mortality rate was 22.2% (n=4).

This study suggests that penetrating cardiac injuries are more often than blunt cardiac injury in TCI, and the majority site of injury is right ventricle. Also, it suggests prehospital CPR and EDT are significantly responsible for high mortality in TCI.

The optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measured by ultrasonography is among the indicators of intracranial pressure (ICP) elevation. However, whether ONSD measurement is useful for initial treatment remains controversial. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between ONSD measured by computed tomography (CT) and ICP in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

A total of 246 patients with severe trauma from January 1, 2015 until December 31, 2015 were included in the study. A total of 179 patients with brain damage with potential for ICP elevation were included in the TBI group. The remaining 67 patients comprised the non-TBI group. A comparison was made between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the accuracy of ONSD when used as a screening test for the TBI group including those with TBI with midline shift (with elevated ICP).

The mean injury severity score (ISS) and glasgow coma scale (GCS) of all patients were 24.2±6.1 and 5.4±0.8, respectively. The mean ONSD of the TBI group (5.5±1.0 mm) was higher than that of the non-TBI group (4.7±0.6 mm). Some significant differences in age (55.3±18.1 vs. 49.0±14.8, p<0.001), GCS (11.7±4.1 versus 13.3±3.0, p<0.001), and ONSD (5.5±1.0 vs. 4.7±0.6, p<0.001) were observed between the TBI and the non-TBI group. An ROC analysis was used to assess the correlation between TBI and ONSD. Results showed an area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.752. The same analysis was used in the TBI with midline shift group, which showed an AUC of 0.912.

An ONSD of >5.5 mm, measured on CT, is a good indicator of ICP elevation. However, since an ONSD is not sensitive enough to detect an increased ICP, it should only be used as one of the parameters in detecting ICP along with other screening tests.