Objective: Given that there are no studies on diseases that occur by waiting for hospitalization, we aimed to evaluate the main causes of death in the emergency room (ER) and their relationship with overcrowding. Methods: Patients who died in the ER in the past 2 years (pediatrics and trauma victims excluded) were divided into two groups: patients who died within 6 hours of arrival (emergency department [ED] group) and patients who died later (LD group). We compared the causes of death, total vital signs, diagnostic tests performed, and therapy between the groups. We assessed for possible correlation between the number of monthly deaths per group and four variables of overcrowding: number of patients treated per month, waiting time before medical visit (W-Time), mean intervention time (I-Time), and number of patients admitted to the ward per month (NPA). Results: During the two years, 175 patients had died in our ER (52% in ED group and 48% in LD group). The total time spent in the ER was, respectively, 2.9±0.2 hours for ED group and 17.9± 1.5 hours for LD group. The more frequent cause of death was cardiovascular syndrome (30%) in ED group and sepsis (27%) and acute respiratory failure (27%) in LD group. Positive correlations between number of monthly deaths and W-Time (R2 0.51, P<0.001), I-Time (R2 0.73, P< 0.0001), and NPA (R2 0.37, P<0.01) were found only in LD group. Conclusion Patients with sepsis and acute respiratory failure die after a long stay in the ER, and the risk increases with overcrowding. A fast-track pathway should be considered for hospital admission of critical patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop nomograms for predicting the probability of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in locally advanced cervical cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nomograms to predict the 5-year OS rates and the 2-year PFS rates were constructed. Calibration plots were constructed, and concordance indices were calculated. Evaluated variableswere body mass index, age, tumor size, tumor histology, grading, lymphovascular space invasion, positive parametria, and positive lymph nodes. RESULTS: In total 245 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery were included for the construction of the nomogram. The 5-year OS and PFS were 72.6% and 66%, respectively. Tumor size, grading, and parametria status affected the rate of OS, whereas tumor size and positive parametria were the main independent PFS prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: We constructed a nomogram based on clinicopathological features in order to predict 2-year PFS and 5-year OS in locally advanced cervical cancer primarily treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical surgery. This tool might be particularly helpful for assisting in the follow-up of cervical cancer patients who have not undergone concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
Body Mass Index ; Calibration ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Nomograms* ; Recurrence ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

PURPOSEMaxillofacial injuries are frequently associated with multiple trauma and can determine functional and aesthetic bad outcomes. The severity of maxillofacial injuries may be considerable and can divert clinicians' attention from other concomitant injuries which is less evident but potentially life-threatening. The aim of this study was to find out the concomitant injuries in patients referred to the Emergency Department (ED) of the University Hospital of Messina (North-East Sicily, Italy) for maxillofacial traumas.

METHODSWe retrospectively evaluated data of 240,833 patients admitted at the ED of the University Hospital of Messina from January 2008 to December 2015 because of maxillofacial injuries leading to hospitalization and surgical treatment. Patients who primarily received treatment care at different institutions, pediatric trauma patients and adult patients who were transferred in accordance with pre-existing agreements in case of paucity of beds were excluded. Finally we included 447 (0.2%) patients over the 8 years. Data were evaluated with emphasis on epidemiology (age, gender, mechanism of trauma), primary survey and abnormalities and pattern of trauma.

RESULTSThe most frequent cause of maxillofacial trauma was road accidents (319 patients, 71.4%), among which motorcycle ones were prevalent. The maxillofacial injured who presented major lesions were 98 patients and minor lesions occurred in 349 patients; 443 (99.1%) patients underwent maxillofacial surgery, immediate or delayed depending on the severity of concomitant injuries (χ = 557.2, p < 0.0001). Five concomitant neglected lesions were found to be associated with severe maxillofacial traumas (χ = 17.13, p < 0.0001 vs minor lesions). All of the neglected lesions occurred in paucisymptomatic patients who showed painless abdomen, no hemodynamic instability, no signs of hematoma of anterior and posterior abdominal wall or other suspicious clinical signs and symptoms.

CONCLUSIONAmong the patients admitted firstly in other surgical wards different from the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, diagnosis was more difficult, especially for blunt abdominal traumas, in which patients showed only vague and nonspecific symptoms concealing serious and life-threatening injuries. We recommend the routine use of whole body CT scan, when the maxillofacial injuries appear prevalent, mainly in patients affected by maxillofacial major lesions.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillofacial Injuries ; etiology ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Trauma ; etiology ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies