Jason D. Sciarretta

Management of lower extremity vascular injuries in pediatric trauma patients: a single Level I trauma center experience.

BACKGROUND Traumatic vascular injuries of the lower extremity in the pediatric population are rare but can result in significant morbidity. We aimed at describing our experience with such complex injuries, with associated patterns of injury, diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, and outcomes. METHODS From January 2006 to December 2011, 2,844 pediatric trauma patients presented at the Ryder Trauma Center, an urban Level I trauma center in Miami, Florida. Among them, 18 patients (0.6%) were evaluated for lower extremity traumatic vascular injuries. Variables collected included age, sex, mechanism of injury, and clinical status at presentation. Surgical data included vessel injury, technical aspects of repair, associated complications, and outcomes. RESULTS Mean (SD) age was ± 14.7 (2.6) years (range, 6–17 years), with 17 males (94.4%). Of the 18 traumatic pediatric patients, 32 vascular injuries were identified. All arterial injuries underwent definitive operative repair. Primary repair was performed in two patients (11.1%), six (33.3%) required saphenous vein interposition grafting as initial procedure, and eight (44.4%) underwent polytetrafluoroethylene grafting. Ligation was performed in major venous injuries and deep profunda branches. The overall survival in this series was 94.4%. CONCLUSION Peripheral vascular injuries of the lower extremity in the pediatric population can result in acceptable outcomes if managed early and aggressively. Surgical principles of vascular surgery are similar to those applied to an adult. We recommend that these injuries should be managed in a tertiary specialized center with a multidisciplinary team of trauma surgeons, and pediatricians, which can potentially decrease morbidity and mortality. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Epidemiologic study, level III.

Repair of an Acute Blunt Popliteal Artery Trauma via Endovascular Approach

Popliteal vascular trauma remains a challenging entity and carries the greatest risk of limb loss among the lower extremity vascular injuries. Operative management of patients presenting with traumatic popliteal vascular injuries continues to evolve. We present a case of successful endovascular repair with stent grafting of an acute blunt popliteal artery injury. Endovascular repair of traumatic popliteal vascular injuries appears as an attractive alternative to surgical repair in a very selective group of patients. Further investigation is still needed to define the safety and feasibility of endovascular approach in the management of traumatic popliteal vascular injuries.

Management of traumatic popliteal vascular injuries in a level I trauma center: A 6-year experience.

INTRODUCTION Popliteal vascular trauma remains a challenging entity, and carries the greatest risk of limb loss among the lower extremity vascular injuries. Operative management of traumatic popliteal vascular injuries continues to evolve. We aim at describing our experience with such complex injuries, with associated patterns of injury, diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, and outcomes. METHODS From January 2006 to September 2011, 191 adult trauma patients presented to an urban level I trauma center in Miami, Florida with traumatic lower extremity vascular injuries. Variables collected included age, gender, mechanism of injury, and clinical status at presentation. Surgical data included vessel injury, technical aspects of repair, associated complications and outcomes. RESULTS Forty-seven (24.6%) patients were diagnosed with traumatic popliteal vascular injuries. Mean age was 38.1 ± 16.1 years, and the majority of patients were males (43 patients, 91.4%). There were 21 (44.7%) penetrating injuries, and 26 (55.3%) blunt injuries. Vascular repair with saphenous venous interposition graft and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) grafting were performed in 36 (70.7%) and 2 (3.9%) patients, respectively. Blunt popliteal injuries were significantly more associated with major tissue loss, and length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stays. The risk for amputation is increased with longer ICU stays and the use of PTFE grafting for vascular repair. The overall mortality rate in this series was 8.5%. CONCLUSIONS Blunt popliteal vascular injuries are associated with increased morbidity compared to penetrating trauma. Early restoration of blood perfusion, frequent use of interposition grafts with autogenous saphenous vein, and liberal use of fasciotomies play important role to achieve acceptable outcomes.

Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis: Risks for Acquisition and Death in a Community Hospital.

BACKGROUND Recent cases of hospital-acquired (HA) aspergillosis on our Trauma Service raised the question of whether this represented an outbreak or just increased case identification. PATIENTS AND METHODS After Institutional Review Board approval, we performed a retrospective analysis of all 117 patients with positive pulmonary Aspergillus cultures at Grand Strand Medical Center from 2010 through 2016. The diagnosis of community-acquired (CA) invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was determined when patients were admitted with a pneumonia and the diagnosis was made within the first week of hospitalization. RESULTS Of patients with fungus cultures (3929), 3% (117) were positive for Aspergillus. More than 70% (84) of patients were colonized. The remaining 33 patients were treated for IPA. Twenty-seven patients had chronic respiratory problems and presented with a new lower respiratory illness; 23 had CA IPA diagnosed within the first week of admission with 17% mortality rate; four patients had a delayed diagnosis (probable CA) with a 75% mortality rate. The six remaining patients all underwent a surgical procedure and were suspected to have HA aspergillosis. There was a significantly higher rate of HA in the surgical subset in comparison with all nonsurgical patients (p < 0.03). Patients treated for IPA were more likely to be receiving high dose prednisone (>20 mg/day, p < 0.004) and their mortality rate was significantly higher than colonized patients (27.3% vs. 9.5%, p < 0.026). Patients with HA IPA were divided evenly over the years of the study period and not thought to represent an outbreak. CONCLUSIONS Aspergillus infection is an endemic infection in this region of the southern Atlantic states and may occur in patients with major trauma as well as patients with chronic pulmonary diseases. Our data support the concept that there were no breaches in air quality to cause the IPA. Aggressive fungal therapy should be considered in all at-risk patients.

Multidisciplinary team approach in the management of popliteal artery injury

Popliteal artery injuries (PAIs) remain a challenging entity and carry the greatest risk of limb loss among traumatic lower extremity vascular injuries. Operative management of traumatic popliteal vascular injuries continues to evolve. Improved diagnostic imaging and the introduction of endovascular techniques offered alternative modalities to traditional surgical management. Despite major efforts in establishing protocols and guidelines in the management of vascular trauma, optimal strategies of traumatic PAIs are still under investigation. Herein, we discussed the role of multidisciplinary team, involving trauma and endovascular surgeons, emergency department personnel, and interventional radiologists in the management of complex PAIs.