Thomas V. Clancy

A statewide analysis of level I and II trauma centers for patients with major injuries.

BACKGROUND This study examines statewide outcomes and resource use in Level I and II trauma centers for patients with major injuries. METHODS This study analyzed trauma registry data on patients admitted to North Carolina Level I and II trauma centers from January 1995 to December 1996 with one of four major injuries: thoracic aortic disruption, liver injury, pelvic fracture, or pulmonary contusion. RESULTS There were 59 thoracic aortic disruptions, 109 liver injuries, 153 pelvic fractures, and 962 pulmonary contusions identified among 26,030 admissions. Case fatality was not significantly different (Level I, 16.8%; Level II, 14.9%). Hospital charges were significantly higher in Level I centers (Level I,

Practice management guidelines for the optimal timing of long-bone fracture stabilization in polytrauma patients : The EAST practice management guidelines work group

47,366; Level II,

Cardiac output measurement in critical care patients: Thoracic Electrical Bioimpedance versus thermodilution.

35,490), but this difference was confined to transferred patients. Controlling for Revised Trauma Score, Injury Severity Score, age, gender, and race, multivariable regression confirmed findings regarding hospital charges, and multiple logistic regression confirmed findings regarding case fatality. CONCLUSION Case fatality was similar in Level I and Level II trauma centers in North Carolina, and hospital charges were comparable in patients with comparable injuries not requiring transfer. This suggests that patients with major injuries may be optimally cared for in both Level I and Level II trauma centers.

Oral contrast is not necessary in the evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma by computed tomography

I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The optimal timing for long-bone stabilization in polytrauma patients has been debated for the last two decades. Much of the relevant literature focused on long-bone fracture as a femoral fracture; however, a substantial portion of published studies include various fractures (tibia, humerus, spine, and/or pelvis). Reported benefits of early long-bone stabilization in polytrauma patients include increased patient mobilization by eliminating the need for traction and decreased pulmonary morbidity (fat emboli syndrome, pneumonia, adult respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS]), late septic sequelae, hospital care costs, mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, and ventilator days. Some authors suggest that early long-bone stabilization in polytrauma patients increases blood loss, fluid administration, and surgical stress, pulmonary morbidity, and mortality. However, others intimate that pulmonary morbidity (pulmonary shunt) is similar in those undergoing early or late stabilization (i.e., no worse, no better). There have been additional concerns regarding the timing of long-bone stabilization in patients with brain or chest injury. Problems with early fixation of long bones in patients with brain injury include secondary brain injury as a result of hypoxemia, hypotension, and/or complexity of controlling intracranial hypertension, increased mortality, and increased fluid administration, which might exacerbate cerebral edema. Other investigators suggest that early long-bone stabilization is not advised in patients with pulmonary contusion, multiple rib fractures, or hemopneumothorax, since there is increased pulmonary morbidity (ARDS, fat embolism syndrome), especially when intramedullary nailing and reaming are used. However, others indicate that chest injury patients with early intramedullary nailing have similar outcomes compared with later intramedullary nailing or other stabilization techniques (i.e., no worse or better). Other studies suggest that pulmonary contusion patients have similar pulmonary morbidity (PaO2/FIO2 and duration of mechanical ventilation) with early or late stabilization (i.e., no worse or better).

Practice management guidelines for timing of tracheostomy: The EAST practice management guidelines work group

Thoracic Electrical Bioimpedance (TEB) is a method for measuring cardiac performance which is noninvasive, continuous, has minimal technical requirements, and no patient risk. We used a commercially available TEB device to measure cardiac output in patients with thermodilution catheters in place. We compared the cardiac output measurements for the two modalities. We also compared the average hospital cost for initial cardiac assessment using the two techniques. The mean difference between the two cardiac output measurements was small (0.23 +/- 0.56) and not affected by the magnitude of the cardiac output readings. There was a strong correlation between COTD and COTEB (r = 0.91) and the regression slope was 0.91 with a Y intercept of 0.76. Cost analysis demonstrated that the use of TEB was approximately

Poor hospital documentation of violence against women

600 less than thermodilution. Thoracic electrical bioimpedance measurement of cardiac output may offer a valuable alternative to the invasive measurement of the thermodilution catheter.

Community hospital carotid endarterectomy in patients over age 75

The administration of oral contrast (OC) is widely recommended for computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen in patients with blunt trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether routine abdominal CT scans performed without OC were associated with diagnostic error in patients with blunt trauma. Four hundred ninety-two patients were identified from our Trauma Registry who had CT scans for the evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma between January 1988 and December 1991. Seventy-six percent (372) of the CT scans were interpreted as negative, and 24% (120) were considered positive. OC was used in 8 (1.6%) of 492 patients. Only 1 of 372 patients whose initial non-OC--enhanced scan was negative subsequently required surgery. There were 5 bowel injuries among the 42 patients who underwent an abdominal operation; in none would the use of OC have ensured the preoperative diagnosis. We found that the omission of OC did not represent a disadvantage to patients with blunt trauma undergoing a routine abdominal CT scan. Potential time delays and the hazards associated with the use of OC were minimized.

Proper catheter selection for needle thoracostomy: A height and weight-based criteria

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The ideal time for performing a tracheostomy has not been clearly established. Periods ranging from 3 days to 3 weeks have been suggested in the literature. With current operative methods, it has been established that tracheostomy can be performed with a low rate of complications. In a review of 281 tracheostomies, as well as another 2,862 cases in the literature, Zeitouni and Kost1 reported 0% mortality in their series and 0.3% mortality in the other series since 1973. The risks of prolonged endotracheal intubation—such as patient discomfort, necessitating increased sedation; sinusitis; inadvertent extubation; and laryngeal injury—have become increasingly apparent. Selection of patients who might benefit from conversion of a translaryngeal tube to a tracheostomy tube is a complex medical decision. Furthermore, different subgroups may benefit from tracheostomy at different times in their hospital course. Management of patients with a single organ failure (head injury or respiratory failure) may differ from that of the multiple injury trauma patient. With the lack of clear guidelines for selecting patients for tracheostomy, considerable variability exists in the timing of the procedure, with local practice preferences guiding care, rather than patient considerations. We initiated our review by converting the need for information about optimal timing of tracheostomy into several answerable questions: 1. Does performance of an “early” tracheostomy provide a survival benefit for the recipients? 2. What patient populations benefit from an “early” tracheostomy? 3. Does “early” tracheostomy reduce the number of days on mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit length of stay (ICU LOS)? 4. Does “early” tracheostomy influence the rate of ventilatorassociated pneumonia?

Use of Stent Grafts in Lower Extremity Trauma

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine if violence against women is accurately documented in the trauma registry, and if poor documentation in the medical record is associated with incorrect coding in the registry. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. MATERIALS AND METHODS We identified women aged 15 to 49 in the trauma registry of a regional medical center who had unintentional and intentional injuries over three years, and retrospectively reviewed their medical records to verify registry coding. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Of the 41 assault victims in the registry, 32 were verified by the medical record. Of the 87 unintentional injuries, only 28 were verified; 21 were assault victims according to the medical record, and for the remaining 38, the medical record was too vague to determine intentionality. Thus, the sensitivity of the trauma registry in documenting violence against women was only 57%. Injuries correctly coded in the registry had the details well documented in the medical record, whereas injuries incorrectly coded had poor documentation in the medical record. CONCLUSIONS Violence against women often goes undocumented in hospital data systems.

Resident case coverage in the era of the 80-hour workweek.

We compared the prevalence of stroke and death in 133 patients aged 75 and older in whom 170 carotid endarterectomies were performed with that in 501 patients less than age 75 in whom 640 carotid endarterectomies were performed. There were three strokes (2%) in patients aged 75 and older and nine strokes (1%) in younger patients (p = 0.7). There were 8 deaths (5%) in patients aged 75 and older and 14 deaths (2%) in younger patients (p = 0.1). After controlling for the possible confounding effects of diabetes, prior stroke, history of angina, prior carotid artery disease, previous vascular surgery, history of myocardial infarction, preoperative hypertension requiring medication, and female gender, a logistic regression model showed that patients aged 75 and older were no more likely to have a stroke or death than patients under age 75. We conclude that age alone is not a contraindication to the safe performance of carotid endarterectomy in the community hospital.