INTRODUCTION Atrioventricular node (AVN) contusion usually results in cardiogenic shock and arrhythmia and is a rare but fatal condition. The condition is difficult to diagnose and easily overlooked because it develops rapidly and is asymptomatic. We here report 3 cases that demonstrate blunt chest impact and hemorrhages of the posterior atrioventricular junction, eventually result in death. ...

Synaptosomal-associated protein 25 kDa (SNAP-25) is localized on the synapse and participates in exocytosis and neurotransmitter release. Decreased expression of SNAP-25 is associated with Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, the expression of SNAP-25 in spinal cord contusion injury is still unclear. We hypothesized that SNAP-25 is associated with sensory a...

Cerebral contusions are one the most frequent traumatic lesions and the most common indication for secondary surgical decompression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiology of perilesional secondary brain damage and evaluate the value of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in the treatment of these lesions. Five groups of five Sprague-Dawley rats each were submitted to dynamic ...

BACKGROUND In patients with severe traumatic brain lesions, the lower limit for cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is controversial. The aim of this prospective study was to assess this limit from bedside measurements of cerebral energy metabolism and to clarify whether the penumbra zone surrounding a focal lesion is more sensitive to a decrease in CPP than less-injured areas. METHODS Fifty pa...

BACKGROUND Brain ischaemia and infarction are the leading factors in morbidity and mortality of traumatic brain injury. This study aimed to determine the perfusion status of pericontusional hypodense areas in traumatic cerebral contusion METHODS Ten patients involved in motor vehicle accidents were enrolled in this study, and contusions were diagnosed from plain computed tomography scans of t...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Light therapy has biomodulatory effects on central and peripheral nervous tissue. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe central nervous system trauma with no effective restorative therapies. The effectiveness of light therapy on SCI caused by different types of trauma was determined. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS Two SCI models were used: a contusion model and a ...

Pulmonary contusion is the most commonly identified thoracic soft tissue injury in an automobile crash and after blunt chest trauma and affects 10-17% of all trauma admissions. The mortality associated with pulmonary contusions is significant and is estimated to be 10-25%. Thus, there is a need to develop a finite element model based injury metric for pulmonary contusion for the purpose of pred...

Objective. To explore the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at ST36 (EA-ST36) and at Ashi acupoints (EA-Ashi) on skeletal muscle repair. Methods. Seventy-five rabbits were randomly divided into five groups: normal, contusion, EA-Ashi, EA-ST36, and EA at Ashi acupoints and ST36 (EA-AS). EA (0.4 mA, 2 Hz, 15 min) was applied after an acute gastrocnemius contusion. The morphology of myofibers and...

Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common disease that may contribute to morbidity and mortality among trauma patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study evaluated the associations between trauma factors and the development of VAP in ventilated patients with multiple rib fractures. Methods We retrospectively and consecutively evaluated 101 patients with multiple r...