In mass casualty incidents, effective triage, treatment, and transport are critical for efficient management but often deviate from practices and ethical standards. In terms of resource allocation, decentralized transport is the predominant transport method; however, it is not standardized. This report retrospectively analyzed the response to a mass casualty incident at a university emergency center. By centralizing patient transport from the scene, the time to patient transport could be shortened, the burden on the scene related to transport could be reduced, and undertriage at the scene could be avoided. No trauma-related deaths occurred. This case provides a valuable contribution to the understanding of situations in which critical patients may concentrate in emergency centers during future mass-casualty incidents.

Objective: This study aimed to identify prognostic factors for hypothermia, including hormone levels.Materials and Methods: This retrospective analysis used data from our department’s database from November 2018 to December 2023. Inclusion criteria comprised cases with a prehospital diagnosis of hypothermia (body temperature <35°C) established by emergency medical technicians. Patients in cardiac arrest upon arrival were excluded from the study. This study investigated various parameters, including age, sex, body temperature, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), C-reactive protein, total protein, albumin levels, and outcomes. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the discharge outcome: fatal and survival groups. This study compared the variables between the two groups.Results: There were 28 and 53 patients in the fatal and survival groups, respectively. The average heart rate and FT3 levels in the fatal group were significantly lower than those in the survival group. The average cortisol and CRP levels in the fatal group were significantly higher than those in the survival group.Conclusion: This is the first report to demonstrate that hypothermic patients with a fatal outcome tend to have low heart rate, low FT3 levels, high cortisol levels, and inflammation upon arrival at the hospital. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the clinical significance of our findings.

Objective: To elucidate the patient characteristics and outcomes of emergency surgery for spinal metastases and identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 216 patients with spinal metastases who underwent palliative surgery from 2015 to 2020. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Barthel index, EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ5D), and neurological function were assessed at surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Results: In total, 146 patients underwent nonemergency surgery and 70 patients underwent emergency surgery within 48 hours of diagnosis of a surgical indication. After propensity score matching, we compared 61 patients each who underwent nonemergency and emergency surgery. Regardless of matching, the median performance status and the mean Barthel index and EQ5D score showed a tendency toward worse outcomes in the emergency than nonemergency group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively, although the surgery greatly improved these values in both groups. The median survival time tended to be shorter in the emergency than nonemergency group. The multivariate analysis showed that lesions located at T3–10 (p = 0.002; odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–5.75) and Frankel grades A–C (p < 0.001; OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.45–9.86) were independent risk factors for emergency surgery. Conclusion Among patients with spinal metastases, preoperative and postoperative subjective health values and postoperative survival are poorer in emergency than nonemergency surgery. Close attention to patients with T3–10 metastases is required to avoid poor outcomes after emergency surgery.

Objective: To elucidate the patient characteristics and outcomes of emergency surgery for spinal metastases and identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 216 patients with spinal metastases who underwent palliative surgery from 2015 to 2020. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Barthel index, EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ5D), and neurological function were assessed at surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Results: In total, 146 patients underwent nonemergency surgery and 70 patients underwent emergency surgery within 48 hours of diagnosis of a surgical indication. After propensity score matching, we compared 61 patients each who underwent nonemergency and emergency surgery. Regardless of matching, the median performance status and the mean Barthel index and EQ5D score showed a tendency toward worse outcomes in the emergency than nonemergency group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively, although the surgery greatly improved these values in both groups. The median survival time tended to be shorter in the emergency than nonemergency group. The multivariate analysis showed that lesions located at T3–10 (p = 0.002; odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–5.75) and Frankel grades A–C (p < 0.001; OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.45–9.86) were independent risk factors for emergency surgery. Conclusion Among patients with spinal metastases, preoperative and postoperative subjective health values and postoperative survival are poorer in emergency than nonemergency surgery. Close attention to patients with T3–10 metastases is required to avoid poor outcomes after emergency surgery.

Objective: To elucidate the patient characteristics and outcomes of emergency surgery for spinal metastases and identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 216 patients with spinal metastases who underwent palliative surgery from 2015 to 2020. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Barthel index, EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ5D), and neurological function were assessed at surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Results: In total, 146 patients underwent nonemergency surgery and 70 patients underwent emergency surgery within 48 hours of diagnosis of a surgical indication. After propensity score matching, we compared 61 patients each who underwent nonemergency and emergency surgery. Regardless of matching, the median performance status and the mean Barthel index and EQ5D score showed a tendency toward worse outcomes in the emergency than nonemergency group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively, although the surgery greatly improved these values in both groups. The median survival time tended to be shorter in the emergency than nonemergency group. The multivariate analysis showed that lesions located at T3–10 (p = 0.002; odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–5.75) and Frankel grades A–C (p < 0.001; OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.45–9.86) were independent risk factors for emergency surgery. Conclusion Among patients with spinal metastases, preoperative and postoperative subjective health values and postoperative survival are poorer in emergency than nonemergency surgery. Close attention to patients with T3–10 metastases is required to avoid poor outcomes after emergency surgery.

Objective: To elucidate the patient characteristics and outcomes of emergency surgery for spinal metastases and identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 216 patients with spinal metastases who underwent palliative surgery from 2015 to 2020. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Barthel index, EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ5D), and neurological function were assessed at surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Results: In total, 146 patients underwent nonemergency surgery and 70 patients underwent emergency surgery within 48 hours of diagnosis of a surgical indication. After propensity score matching, we compared 61 patients each who underwent nonemergency and emergency surgery. Regardless of matching, the median performance status and the mean Barthel index and EQ5D score showed a tendency toward worse outcomes in the emergency than nonemergency group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively, although the surgery greatly improved these values in both groups. The median survival time tended to be shorter in the emergency than nonemergency group. The multivariate analysis showed that lesions located at T3–10 (p = 0.002; odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–5.75) and Frankel grades A–C (p < 0.001; OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.45–9.86) were independent risk factors for emergency surgery. Conclusion Among patients with spinal metastases, preoperative and postoperative subjective health values and postoperative survival are poorer in emergency than nonemergency surgery. Close attention to patients with T3–10 metastases is required to avoid poor outcomes after emergency surgery.

Objective: To elucidate the patient characteristics and outcomes of emergency surgery for spinal metastases and identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Methods: We prospectively analyzed 216 patients with spinal metastases who underwent palliative surgery from 2015 to 2020. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Barthel index, EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ5D), and neurological function were assessed at surgery and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for emergency surgery. Results: In total, 146 patients underwent nonemergency surgery and 70 patients underwent emergency surgery within 48 hours of diagnosis of a surgical indication. After propensity score matching, we compared 61 patients each who underwent nonemergency and emergency surgery. Regardless of matching, the median performance status and the mean Barthel index and EQ5D score showed a tendency toward worse outcomes in the emergency than nonemergency group both preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively, although the surgery greatly improved these values in both groups. The median survival time tended to be shorter in the emergency than nonemergency group. The multivariate analysis showed that lesions located at T3–10 (p = 0.002; odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–5.75) and Frankel grades A–C (p < 0.001; OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 2.45–9.86) were independent risk factors for emergency surgery. Conclusion Among patients with spinal metastases, preoperative and postoperative subjective health values and postoperative survival are poorer in emergency than nonemergency surgery. Close attention to patients with T3–10 metastases is required to avoid poor outcomes after emergency surgery.

Background: and Purpose Recent studies suggested an increased incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We evaluated the volume of CVT hospitalization and in-hospital mortality during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the preceding year. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study of 171 stroke centers from 49 countries. We recorded COVID-19 admission volumes, CVT hospitalization, and CVT in-hospital mortality from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021. CVT diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes or stroke databases. We additionally sought to compare the same metrics in the first 5 months of 2021 compared to the corresponding months in 2019 and 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04934020). Results: There were 2,313 CVT admissions across the 1-year pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic year (2020); no differences in CVT volume or CVT mortality were observed. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT volumes compared to 2019 (27.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.2 to 32.0; P<0.0001) and 2020 (41.4%; 95% CI, 37.0 to 46.0; P<0.0001). A COVID-19 diagnosis was present in 7.6% (132/1,738) of CVT hospitalizations. CVT was present in 0.04% (103/292,080) of COVID-19 hospitalizations. During the first pandemic year, CVT mortality was higher in patients who were COVID positive compared to COVID negative patients (8/53 [15.0%] vs. 41/910 [4.5%], P=0.004). There was an increase in CVT mortality during the first 5 months of pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to the first 5 months of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019 vs. 2020: 2.26% vs. 4.74%, P=0.05; 2019 vs. 2021: 2.26% vs. 4.99%, P=0.03). In the first 5 months of 2021, there were 26 cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), resulting in six deaths. Conclusions During the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CVT hospitalization volume and CVT in-hospital mortality did not change compared to the prior year. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with higher CVT in-hospital mortality. During the first 5 months of 2021, there was an increase in CVT hospitalization volume and increase in CVT-related mortality, partially attributable to VITT.

Objective: This report presents a case of supracondylar femur fracture with finite element analysis and discusses its causes and prevention.Patient and Methods: A 53-year-old man presented with right talar osteonecrosis after osteosynthesis for a talus fracture. A medial femoral condyle-free vascularized bone graft (size, 20 × 12 × 17 mm) from the contralateral femur was performed, including the posteromedial cortical corner. The patient suffered a donor-site supracondylar femoral fracture while standing up from a cross-legged sitting position on the bed on postoperative day 6. The fracture was treated with intramedullary nailing. We analyzed the effects of the location of the bone graft harvest in an intact model using the three-dimensional finite element method (FEM).Results: The talar necrosis and the femur fracture healed. The FEM result revealed that the longitudinal axial pressure had minimal effect on the femur; however, the stress around the bone defect increased with rotation, especially in the posteromedial bone defect model.Conclusion: Harvesting the bone graft should not include the posteromedial corner of the supracondylar femur. The patient should strictly limit the motion of torsional stress, such as standing from a cross-legged sitting position or pivoting turn.

Pericardial pacing wire placement may occasionally result in intravascular or intratracheal wire migration, infective endocarditis, and sepsis; reportedly, the incidence of complications is approximately 0.09 to 0.4%. We report a case of a retained epicardial pacing wire that migrated into the pulmonary artery. A 66-year-old man underwent coronary artery bypass grafting for angina pectoris, with placement of an epicardial pacing wire on the right ventricular epicardium, 6 years prior to presentation. Some resistance was encountered during wire extraction; therefore, it was cut off at the cutaneous level on postoperative day 8. Computed tomography performed 6 years postoperatively revealed migration of the pacing wire into the pulmonary artery, and it was removed using catheter intervention. Surgeons should be aware of complications associated with retained pacing wires in patients in whom epicardial wires are retained after cardiac surgery.