PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the clinical significance IV-contrasted helical abdomen computed tomography (CT) as a diagnostic screening tool to evaluate hollow viscus injury in blunt abdominal trauma patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective study encompassing 108 patients, presenting to Korea University Medical Center (KUMC) Emergency Department (ED) from January 2007 to December 2007, with an initial CT finding suggestive of intra-abdominal injury. An initial non-enhanced abdomen CT was taken, followed by an enhanced CT with intravenous contrast. Patients' demographic data, as well as the mechanisms of injury, were inquired upon and obtained, initial diagnosis, as dictated by specialized radiologists, were added to post-operational (post-OP) findings and to additional CT findings acquired during their hospital stays, and all were combined to arrive at final diagnosis. Initial CT findings were further compared with the final diagnosis, yielding values for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, as well as positive and negative predictive values. Patients were further divided into two groups, namely, those that underwent operational intervention and those that did not. The initial CT findings of each group were subsequently compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Initial CT scans revealed abnormal findings in a total of 212 cases - solid organ injuries being the most common finding, as was observed in 97 cases. Free fluid accumulation was evident in another 69 cases. Based on the CT findings, 77 cases (71.3%) were initially diagnosed as having a solid organ injury, 20 cases (18.5%) as having a combined (solid organ + hollow viscus) injury, and 11 cases (10.2%), as having an isolated hollow viscus injury. The final diagnosis however, were somewhat different, with only 67 cases (62.0%) attributed to solid organ injury, 31 cases (28.7%) to combined injury (solid + hollow), and 10 cases (9.3%) to hollow viscus injury. The sensitivity (CI 95%) of the initial helical CT in diagnosing hollow viscus injury was 75.6%, and its specificity was 100%. The accuracy in diagnosing hollow viscus injury was also meaningfully lower compared to that in diagnosis of solid organ injury. Among patients initially diagnosed with solid organ injuries, 10 patients (2 from follow-up CT and 8 from post-OP finding) turned out to have combined injuries. A total of 38 patients underwent an operation, and the proportion of initial CT findings suggesting free air, mesenteric hematoma or bowel wall thickening turned out to be significantly higher in the operation group. CONCLUSION: Abdominal CT was a meaningful screening test for hollow viscus injury, but the sensitivity of abdominal CT was significantly lower in detecting hollow viscus injury as compared to solid organ injury. This calls for special consideration and careful observation by the ED physicians when dealing with cases of blunt abdominal trauma.
Abdomen ; Academic Medical Centers ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Mass Screening ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

PURPOSE: Treatment and prognosis in patients with pelvic bone fracture depend on the characteristics of the fracture and the stability of the pelvic ring. The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of and the relationships between fracture patterns, injury mechanisms, clinical courses, and prognoses according to the hemodynamic pattern. METHODS: Between January 2004 and September 2006, 89 patients under diagnosis of pelvic bone fracture were retrospectively analyzed on the basis of medical records and radiologic examinations. Patients with confirmed hemorragic shock with a systolic pressure of less than 90 mmHg were defined as the shock group. Young's classification was used to characterize fracture patterns. Factors relating to the clinical manifestation and to treatments such as transfusion and surgery were analytically compared. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 48.8+/-18.7, among which 49 (55.1%) were male. The numbers of shock and non-shock patients were 35 (39.3%) and 54 (60.7%) respectively. Eighteen (51.4%) of the shock patient had injuries resulting from pedestrian accidents (p=0.008). According to Young's classification, lateral impact fractures amounted to 20 and 33, front-rear impact fractures to 9 and 20, and multiple fractures to 6 and 1 among the shock and non-shock patients, respectively (p=0.027). Thirty-nine (39) cases in non-shock injuries were conservatively managed while 18 cases in shock injuries were surgically treated. In the shock group, the liver and the kidney were often damaged, as well. Among the shock patients, the average admission period was 7.5+/-8.7 days in intensive care and 55.1+/-47.9 days in total, which were longer than the corresponding numbers of days for the non-shock patients (p<0.05). No deaths occurred in the non-shock group while 5 deaths (14.2%) occurred in the shock group (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: The factors affecting hemodynamic instability in patients with pelvic bone fracture are injury mechanism, classification of fracture, and associated injuries.
Blood Pressure ; Critical Care ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pelvic Bones ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock

PURPOSE: National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) criteria and the Canadian Cervical Spine rule (CCR) are commonly used in cervical trauma patients to determine whether a plain cervical X-ray should be performed. However, plain cervical X-rays are so inaccurate that cervical spine computed tomography (CT) is often considered as a screening test. We studied the usefulness of the NEXUS criteria and the CCR for determining the need for a CT evaluation in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted from January 2007 to March 2008. Plain Xray and CT scans of the cervical spine were performed on blunt trauma patients with neck pain. The relevancy of CT was examined using the NEXUS criteria and the CCR. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value, and negative predicted value analyses were performed to diagnose the cervical spine injury. RESULTS: During the study period, 284 patients were enrolled in this study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value, and negative predicted value of the NEXUS criteria were 87.5%, 1.1%, 5.0%, and 60.0% respectively, while those of the CCR were 87.5%, 8.2%, 5.3%, and 91.6%. There were two missed fracture cases when the NEXUS criteria and the CCR were applied independently, however, no cases were missed when both were applied. CONCLUSION: This study suggests the NEXUS and the CCR in combination can be used as a guide to CT evaluation for cervical spine injury in the ED.
Cervical Vertebrae ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Neck Pain ; Prospective Studies ; Resin Cements ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spine

Iatrogenic ureteral injury is a complication that can occur during a variety of pelvic or abdominal surgeries. The most frequent causes are gynecological ones, followed by colon and vascular surgeries. Management of ureteric injury depends on the time of diagnosis and the severity of organ damage. Injuries diagnosed intraoperatively should be treated immediately. Occasionally, intraoperative ureteral injury is overlooked, and symptoms of the late diagnosis of ureteral injury are usually nonspecific; therefore, the diagnosis is delayed for days or weeks postoperatively. Management of injuries diagnosed postoperatively is more complex. There are differing opinions on whether an initial conservative or immediate operative intervention is the best line of action. Delayed repair is suggested on the grounds that it will reduce inflammation and tissue edema. However, many authors are in favor of early repair, perhaps because tissue planes are easier to find before fibrosis becomes too dense. Ureteral injuries occurring at the level of the pelvic brim should be best managed with an end-to-end anastomosis, preferably around a ureteric stent. More distal injuries also should be ideally managed with an end-to-end anastomosis, after excision of the crushed or compromised segments. However, if the remaining distal segment is short, ureteral reimplantation is the procedure of choice. The Boari flap technique for ureteral reimplantation is invaluable in cases with a short proximal segment. Delayed recognition of iatrogenic ureteral injury may be associated with serious complications, so prompt recognition of ureteral injuries is important. Recognition of the injury before closure is the key to easy, successful, and complications-free repair. Increased awareness of the risk for ureteral damage during certain operative maneuvers is vital to prevent injury, and to decrease the incidence of iatrogenic injury. A sound knowledge of abdominal and pelvic anatomy is the best prevention.
Colon ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Edema ; Fibrosis ; Iatrogenic Disease ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Replantation ; Stents ; Ureter

When man first walked on this planet, injury must have been a close encounter of the first kind. The outbreak of World War I, during a period of rapid scientific growth in the basic sciences, demonstrated the need to develop better methods of care for the wounded, methods that were later applicable to the civilian population. Trauma is a multisystem disease and, as such, benefits from almost any advance in medical science. As we learn more about the physiology and the biochemistry of various organ systems, we can provide better management for trauma victims. Improved imaging techniques, better appreciation of physiologic tolerance, and increased understanding of the side effects of specific surgical procedures have combined to reduce operative intervention as a component of trauma patient care. On the other hand, because of this rapid development of medical science, only a few doctors still have the ability to treat multisystem injuries because almost doctor has his or her specialty, which means a doctor tends to see only patients with diagnoses in the doctor's specialty. Trauma Surgeons are physicians who have completed the typical general surgery residency and who usually continue with a one to two year fellowship leading to additional board certification in Surgical Critical Care. It is important to note that trauma surgeons do not need to do all kinds of operations, such as neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery. Trauma surgeons are not only a surgeon but also general medical practitioners who are very good at critical care and coordination of patient. In order to achieve the best patient outcomes, trauma surgeons should be involved in prehospital Emergency Medical Services, the Trauma Resuscitation Room, the Operating Room, the Surgical Intensive Care and Trauma Unit, the Trauma Ward, the Rehabilitation Department, and the Trauma Outpatient Clinic. In conclusion, according to worldwide experience and research, the trauma surgeon is the key factor in the trauma care system, so the trauma surgeon should receive strong support to accomplish his or her role successfully.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Biochemistry ; Certification ; Critical Care ; Emergency Medical Services ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; Hand ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Neurosurgery ; Operating Rooms ; Orthopedics ; Patient Care ; Planets ; Resuscitation ; Trauma Centers ; World War I

Resection of the bowel is necessary for the repair of a ventral hernia after recovery from trauma in some cases. In such instances, polyester or polypropylene meshcannot be used due to the possibility of infection; we had to use biological mesh instead. We report a case in which a traumatic hernia was repaired with Permacol (Covidien, Norwalk, CT, USA). A 42-year-old male patient had been injured by a factory machine seven months prior to admission. At that time, he had abdominal wall injury and small bowel perforation. His abdominal wall had been a defect after operation. A CT scan of the abdomen showed that the left abdominal wall, which is lateral to left rectus abdominis muscle had only one muscle layer, an external oblique muscle, and that a previous abdominal incision had a defect along the entire incision. During the exploration, 10 cm of small bowel was removed due to firm adhesion to the previous surgical scar. Permacol mesh was applied and fixed with transfascial fixations and tacks by using the intraperitoneal onlay mesh technique. There were no complications after the surgery and the patient was discharged without any problems.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Wall ; Adult ; Cicatrix ; Collagen ; Hernia ; Hernia, Ventral ; Humans ; Inlays ; Male ; Muscles ; Polyesters ; Polypropylenes ; Rectus Abdominis ; Transplants

Gunshot wounds are rare in Korea, but they have tended to increase recently. We experienced an interesting case of penetrating gunshot injuries to the cervical spine with migration the fragments of the bullet within the dural sac of the cervical spine,so discuss the pathomechanics, treatment and complications of gunshot wounds to the spine and present a review of the literature. A 38-year-old man who had tried to commit suicide with a gun was admitted to our hospital with a penetrating injury to the anterior neck. the patient had quadriplegia. A Computed tomography (CT) scan and 3-dimensional CT of the spine showed destruction of the left lateral mass and lamina of the 5th cervical vertebra; the bullet and fragments were found at the level of the 5th cervical vertebra. The posterior approach was done. A total laminectomy and removal of the lateral mass of the 5th cervical vertebrae were performed, and bone fragments and pellets were removed from the spinal canal, but an intradurally retained pellets were not totally removed. A dural laceration was noted intraoperatively, and CSF leakage was observed, so dura repair was done watertightly with prolene 6-0. The dura repair site was covered with fibrin glue and Tachocomb(R) Immediately, a lumbar drain was done. Radiographs included a postoperative CT scan and X-rays. The postoperative neurological status of the patient was improved compared with the preoperative neurological status. however, the patients developed symptoms of menigitis. He received lumbar drainage(200~250 cc/day) and ventilator care. After two weeks, panperitonitis due to duodenal ulcer perforation was identified. Finally, the patient died because of sepsis.
Adult ; Cervical Vertebrae ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Female ; Fibrin Tissue Adhesive ; Humans ; Korea ; Lacerations ; Laminectomy ; Neck ; Polypropylenes ; Quadriplegia ; Sepsis ; Spinal Canal ; Spine ; Suicide ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Wounds, Gunshot

PURPOSE: For determining the prognosis of critically injured patients, transporting patients to medical facilities capable of providing proper assessment and management, running rapid assessment and making rapid decisions, and providing aggressive resuscitation is vital. Considering the high mortality and morbidity rates in critically injured patients, various studies have been conducted in efforts to reduce those rates. However, studies related to diagnostic factors for predicting severity in critically injured patients are still lacking. Furthermore, patients showing stable vital signs and alert mental status, who are injured via a severe trauma mechanism, may be at a risk of not receiving rapid assessment and management. Thus, this study investigates diagnostic factors, including physical examination and laboratory results, that may help predict severity in trauma patients injured via a severe trauma mechanism, but showing stable vital signs. METHODS: From March 2010 to December 2011, all trauma patients who fit into a diagnostic category that activated a major trauma team in CHA Bundang Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively. The retrospective analysis was based on prospective medical records completed at the time of arrival in the emergency department and on sequential laboratory test results. PASW statistics 18(SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. Patients with relatively stable vital signs and alert mental status were selected based on a revised trauma score of more than 7 points. The final diagnosis of major trauma was made based on an injury severity score of greater than 16 points. Diagnostic variables include systolic blood pressure and respiratory rate, glasgow coma scale, initial result from focused abdominal sonography for trauma, and laboratory results from blood tests and urine analyses. To confirm the true significance of the measured values, we applied the Kolmogorov-Smirnov one sample test and the Shapiro-Wilk test. When significance was confirmed, the Student's t-test was used for comparison; when significance was not confirmed, the Mann-Whitney u-test was used. The results of focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) and factors of urine analysis were analyzed using the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Variables with statistical significance were selected as prognostics factors, and they were analyzed using a multivariate logistics regression model. RESULTS: A total of 269 patients activated the major trauma team. Excluding 91 patients who scored a revised trauma score of less than 7 points, 178 patients were subdivided by injury severity score to determine the final major trauma patients. Twenty-one(21) patients from 106 major trauma patients and 9 patients from 72 minor trauma patients were also excluded due to missing medical records or untested blood and urine analysis. The investigated variables with p-values less than 0.05 include the glasgow coma scale, respiratory rate, white blood cell count (WBC), serum AST and ALT, serum creatinine, blood in spot urine, and protein in spot urine. These variables could, thus, be prognostic factors in major trauma patients. A multivariate logistics regression analysis on those 8 variables showed the respiratory rate (p=0.034), WBC (p=0.005) and blood in spot urine (p=0.041) to be independent prognostic factors for predicting the clinical course of major trauma patients. CONCLUSION: In trauma patients injured via a severe trauma mechanism, but showing stable vital signs and alert mental status, the respiratory rate, WBC count and blood in the urine can be used as predictable factors for severity. Using those laboratory results, rapid assessment of major trauma patients may shorten the time to diagnosis and the time for management.
Blood Pressure ; Chicago ; Creatinine ; Emergencies ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Leukocyte Count ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Organization and Administration ; Physical Examination ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Respiratory Rate ; Resuscitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Running ; Vital Signs

PURPOSE: The management of splenic injuries has shifted from a splenectomy to splenic preservation owing to immunity. The purpose of this study was to assess the kinds of management and outcomes through a review of our experience with splenic injuries. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 47 patients with traumatic splenic injuries using by electronic medical records from Jan. 2007 and Dec. 2011. Splenic injuries were classified according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grading system. RESULTS: There were 11 falls, 11 traffic accidents, 10 motorcylcle accidents, 10 pedestrian accidents and 5 abdominal blunt traumas. Low-grade injured patients (< or =Grade III) were 29 of 43(61.7%), and High-grade injured patients (> or =Grade IV) were 18 of 43(38.3%). In 34 patients, non-surgical treatment was performed, and 14 patients underwent a splenectomy. There were relatively more high-grade in older patients, and the highgrade-injury group showed need for a transfusion (p=0.002), more need for a splenectomy (p<0.001), a longer mean hospital stay (p=0.036), a longer ICU stay (p=0.045) and more combined organ injury (p=0.036). CONCLUSION: Conservative treatment should be considered in low-grade-injury patients (< or =Grade III). A Splenectomy was performed on 56% of the patients with Grade IV injuries, so a splenectomy should be considered carefully in such patients. In patients with a grade V injury, we think surgical treatment may be needed.
Accidents, Traffic ; Electronic Health Records ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenectomy

PURPOSE: A tube thoracostomy is an invasive procedure that places patients at risk for complications. Tube thoracostomies are frequently performed by emergency medicine residents. Thus, the purpose of the study was to assess both the complication rate for tube thoracostomies performed by emergency medicine residents and the factors associated with these complications. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of all patients who had undergone a tube thoracostomy performed by emergency medicine residents between January 2008 and February 2009 was conducted at a university hospital. Complications were divided into major and minor complications and into immediate and delayed complications. Complications requiring corrective surgical intervention, requiring the administration of blood products, or involving situations requiring intravenous antibiotics were defined as major. Complications that were detected within 2 hours were defined as immediate. RESULTS: Tube thoracostomies were performed in 189 patients, and 70 patients(37%) experienced some complications. Most complications were immediate and minor. In multiple logistic regressions, BMI, hypotension and resident seniority were significantly associated with complications. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of complications was similar to these in previous reports on the complications of a tube thoracostomy. Most complications from tube thoracostomies performed by emergency medicine residents were immediate and minor complications. Thus, emergency medicine residents should be allowed to perform closed tube thoracostomies instead of thoracic surgeons.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medicine ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Logistic Models ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracostomy