OBJECTIVE Prehospital personnel who lack advanced airway management training must rely on basic techniques when transporting unconscious trauma patients. The supine position is associated with a loss of airway patency when compared to lateral recumbent positions. Thus, an inherent conflict exists between securing an open airway using the recovery position and maintaining spinal immobilization i...

BACKGROUND We aimed to evaluate the effect of early pelvic binder use in the emergency management of suspected pelvic trauma, compared with the conventional stepwise approach. METHODS We enrolled trauma patients with initial stabilization using a pelvic binder when suspecting pelvic injury. The inclusion criteria were traumatic injury requiring a trauma team and at least one of the following:...

Validity of a set of clinical criteria to rule out injury to the cervical spine in patients with blunt trauma.

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency, types and complications of genital tract trauma during child birth. STUDY DESIGN Case series. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Unit I, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, from June 2006 to May 2010. METHODOLOGY All women who sustained genital tract trauma during delivery at the study centre...

INTRODUCTION Previous work suggests that patients with isolated penetrating trauma rarely require spinal immobilisation. This study aimed to identify the incidence of mechanically unstable, or potentially mechanically unstable, spinal column injuries in penetrating trauma patients. The study also aimed to identify the incidence of spinal cord injury as a result of penetrating trauma in Scotland...

BACKGROUND Epidemiology of cervical spine fractures (CSfx) in trauma patients of general population is not yet exclusively known. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of CSfx in trauma patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data from trauma patients admitted in the emergency room (ER) of Shiraz Shahid Rajaei hospital during the 3.5 years period from September 22, 20...

Traumatic perforation of the cervical esophagus due to blunt trauma is a very rare condition which continues to be associated with significant mortality rates. The symptoms and signs of this injury are often masked by or ascribed to more common blunt thoracic injuries. This paper presents a case of cervical esophageal perforation secondary to blunt trauma resulting from a car accident. The inju...

BACKGROUND The use of antithrombotic therapy (anticoagulants and/or antiplatelets) in the setting of traumatic cervical arterial dissection (CAD) for the prevention of stroke remains controversial. This issue is further complicated by the frequent co-existence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and other intracranial injuries, and also the wide variability in treatment due to a lack of evidence-b...

Cervical emphysema and pneumomediastinum are rare conditions, especially outside the setting of blunt trauma. Here we describe a case of a 31-year-old male with a history of cocaine use presenting with cough, odynophagia, neck pain, and neck swelling after forcefully blowing his nose to relieve cocaine-associated congestion and obstruction. Physical exam demonstrates crepitus along the neck and...