BACKGROUND : Emergency thoracotomy (ET) is a life-saving procedure used to control hemorrhage and relieve cardiac tamponade. It has been in routine use at Ulleval University Hospital since 1987. Our objective was to see the outcome of patients subjected to ET in recent times. METHODS : One hundred and nine consecutive ET performed in our emergency department during a 6-year period were analyz...

OBJECTIVE To develop a validated mortality prediction score for children with traumatic injuries. PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified all children (<18 years of age) in the US military established Joint Theater Trauma Registry from 2002 to 2009 who were admitted to combat-support hospitals with traumatic injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. We identified factors associated with mortality using un...

OBJECTIVES Cerebral fat embolism (CFE) is a serious complication after fracture of long bones. The mortality rate of CFE may be high. However, recent progress in treatment may decrease the mortality. We studied the validity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect and grade severity of CFE in 11 patients with CFE. METHODS Glasgow Coma Scale score, PaO2, PaCO2 at the onset, and minimal he...

BACKGROUND Clinical pathways (CPs) have been shown to be beneficial in optimizing patient care and resource use. METHODS A multidisciplinary CP for the treatment of severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3-7) was developed. Data from these patients (group I) were collected prospectively and compared with a retrospective database (group II). RESULTS There were a total of ...

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is believed to cause more profound trauma-induced coagulopathy than other injuries of comparable severity. This has not been reported in a large series of combat casualties in which penetrating injuries predominate. METHODS Among US combat casualties severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan who received transfused blood products, isolated TBI patients (...

OBJECTIVE To study the prevalence of, and identify possible risk factors for, the development of post-traumatic epilepsy in a cohort of children with severe head injury treated in an inpatient rehabilitation unit. METHODS The hospital and community medical case notes of all children admitted prospectively to the unit and the records of the clinical EEG department over a seven year period were...

traumatic brain injury (tbi) is an important cause of death and disability in young adults ,and may lead to physical disabilities and long-term cognitive, behavioral psychological and social defects. there is a lack of definite result about the effect of thyroid hormones after traumatic brain injury in the severity and no data about their effect on mortality of the injury. the aim of this study...

OBJECTIVE to determine predictive factors for prognosis of decompressive craniectomy in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), describing epidemiological findings and the major complications of this procedure. METHODS we conducted a retrospective study based on analysis of clinical and neurological outcome, using the extended Glasgow outcome in 56 consecutive patients diagnosed wi...

OBJECTIVES The Emergency Coma Scale (ECS) was developed in Japan in 2003. We planned a multicenter study to evaluate the utility of the ECS by comparison of the ECS and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). METHODS Ten medical facilities, including 4 university hospitals in Japan, participated in this study. We evaluated and recorded the level of consciousness, using the ECS and GCS, of all patients ...