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Comminuted fractures of the patella mostly occur at the inferior pole and require appropriate reduction and fixation to restore the extensor mechanism. Conventional methods such as tension-band wiring are not enough to gain proper fixation strength. Numerous methods have been reported, including circumferential cerclage wiring, osteosynthesis, and suture anchors depending on the fracture pattern. Herein, the author reports a relatively rare case of a comminuted fracture of the upper pole of the patella, for which we used augmented Krackow sutures in the quadriceps and fixation with tying of the suture limbs through patellar bone tunnels. Satisfactory results were obtained in terms of reduction and extensor mechanism recovery.
We report a case of delayed chest wall reconstruction after thoracotomy. A 53-year-old female, a victim of a motor vehicle accident, presented with bilateral multiple rib fractures with flail motion and multiple extrathoracic injuries. Whole-body computed tomography revealed multiple fractures of the bilateral ribs, clavicle, and scapula, and bilateral hemopneumothorax with severe lung contusions. Active hemorrhage was also found in the anterior pelvis, which was treated by angioembolization. The patient was transferred to the surgical intensive care unit for follow-up. We planned to perform surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) because her lung condition did not seem favorable for general anesthesia. Within a few hours, however, massive hemorrhage (presumably due to coagulopathy) drained through the thoracic drainage catheter. We performed an exploratory thoracotomy in the operating room. We initially planned to perform exploratory thoracotomy and “on the way out” SSRF. In the operating room, the hemorrhage was controlled; however, her condition deteriorated and SSRF could not be completed. SSRF was completed after about a month owing to other medical conditions, and the patient was weaned successfully.
The aim of this review is to introduce the progress in trauma surgery made during war. In the 16th century, Paré reintroduced ligature of arteries, which had been introduced by Celsus and Galen, instead of cauterization during amputation. Larrey, a surgeon in Napoleon’s military, adapted the “flying artillery” to serve as “flying ambulances” for rapid transport of the wounded. He established rules for the triage of war casualties, treating wounded soldiers according to the seriousness of their injuries and the urgency of medical care. To treat fractures and tuberculosis, Thomas created the “Thomas splint”, which was used to stabilize fractured femurs and prevent infection; in World War I (WWI), use of this splint reduced the mortality of compound femur fractures from 87% to less than 8%. During WWI, Cushing systematized the treatment of head injuries, reducing mortality among head injury patients. Gillies repaired facial injuries, and his experiences became the basis of craniofacial and aesthetic surgery. In WWII, McIndoe discovered that immersion in saline promoted burn healing and improved survival rates, and thus began saline baths and early grafting instead of using tannic acid. A high mortality rate in patients with acute renal failure was noted in WWII and the Korean War. In the Korean War, Teschan used the Kolff-Brigham dialyzer. The first use of medevac with helicopters was the evacuation of three British pilot combat casualties by the US Army in Burma during WWII. As a lotus blooms in the mud, military surgeons have contributed to trauma surgery during wartime.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated a redistribution of resources to meet hospitals’ service needs. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on a regional trauma center in South Korea.
We retrospectively reviewed cases of polytrauma at a single regional trauma center in South Korea between January 20 and September 30, 2020 (the COVID-19 period) and compared them to cases reported during the same time frame (January 20 to September 30) between 2016 and 2019 (the pre-COVID-19 period). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included the number of daily admissions, hospital length of stay (LOS), and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS.
The mean number of daily admissions decreased by 15% during the COVID-19 period (4.0±2.0 vs. 4.7±2.2,
The observations at Regional Trauma Center, Pusan National University Hospital corroborate anecdotal reports that there has been a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals during the COVID-19 period. In addition, patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significantly shorter hospital LOS than those admitted before the COVID-19 pandemic. These preliminary data warrant validation in larger, multi-center studies.
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To evaluate the severity of trauma, many scoring systems and predictive models have been presented. The quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) is a simple scoring system based on vital signs, and we expect it to be easier to apply to trauma patients than other trauma assessment tools.
This study was a cross-sectional study of trauma patients who visited the emergency department of Jeju National University Hospital. We excluded patients under the age of 18 years and unknown outcomes. We calculated the qSOFA, the Modified Early Warning Score (mEWS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and Injury Severity Score (ISS) based on patients’ initial vital signs and assessments performed in the emergency department (ED). The primary outcome was mortality within 14 days of trauma. We analyzed qSOFA scores using multivariate logistic regression analysis and compared the predictive accuracy of these scoring systems using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).
In total, 27,764 patients were analyzed. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis of the qSOFA, the adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (CI) for mortality relative to a qSOFA score of 0 were 27.82 (13.63–56.79) for a qSOFA score of 1, 373.31 (183.47–759.57) for a qSOFA score of 2, and 494.07 (143.75–1698.15) for a qSOFA score of 3. In the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the qSOFA, mEWS, ISS, and RTS in predicting the outcomes, for mortality, the AUROC for the qSOFA (AUROC [95% CI]; 0.912 [0.871–0.952]) was significantly greater than those for the ISS (0.700 [0.608–0.793]) and RTS (0.160 [0.108–0.211]).
The qSOFA was useful for predicting the prognosis of trauma patients evaluated in the ED.
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