1/63. The efficacy of integrating "smart simulated casualties" in hospital disaster drills.INTRODUCTION: Full-scale disaster drills are complex, expensive, and may involve hundreds or thousands of people. However, even when carefully planned, they often fail to manifest the details of medical care given to the casualties during the drill. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of integrating physicians among the simulated casualties of a hospital disaster drill. methods: A total of 178 physicians graduating an Advanced Trauma life Support (ATLS) course participated in eight hospital disaster drills during 1994 as "Smart Victims." The participants were given cards with descriptions of their injury and detailed instructions on how to manipulate their medical condition according to the medical care provided in the hospital. They also were given coded questionnaires to fill out during the process of the drill. Conclusions were drawn from analysis of the questionnaires and from a roundtable discussion following each drill. RESULTS: The "smart casualties" made comments on the following topics: 1) triage (over-triage in 9%, and under-triage in 4%); 2) treatment sites; 3) medical equipment usage (i.e., shortage of ventilators and splinting devices); 4) medical knowledge and care rendered by the hospital staff; 5) evacuation and escorting of the wounded; 6) management of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder; and 7) medical documentation. Their comments contributed valuable information on the quality of medical care and organization, and identified obstacles that otherwise would have been overlooked. The "smart casualties" were very cooperative and indicated that their participation in the drill contributed to their understanding of disaster situations in hospitals. CONCLUSION: Integrating physicians among the simulated casualties in a hospital disaster drill may contribute to achieving the objectives of hospital disaster drills and add to disaster management education of the simulated casualty physicians.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/63. Transcatheter gelfoam embolization of posttraumatic bleeding pseudoaneurysms.Diagnostic angiography combined with transcatheter therapeutic embolization is a simple and effective means of treating complex clinical situations associated with posttraumatic hemorrhage. Bleeding pseudoaneurysms, even when large, can be readily managed by this combined modality with resultant decrease in morbidity and hospital stay. Five patients with posttraumatic pseudoaneurysms are presented. All five were treated by transcatheter therapeutic embolization with Gelfoam. Of these five cases, three involved extremities, one involved the retroperitoneal space, and the last was of renal origin. Two of the five cases still required surgical intervention after initial successful therapeutic embolization, one for recurrent bleeding from collaterals and the other for evacuation of a massive pseudoaneurysm which was causing distraction of fracture fragments. The early use of angiography in suspected cases of posttraumatic hemorrhage, together with careful evaluation of potential collateral supply, is stressed. The use of transcatheter therapeutic embolization in the extremities as presented here is yet another example of the ever-broadening applicability of this technique.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/63. Treatment and stabilization of complex wounds involving the pelvic bone, groin, and femur with the inferiorly based rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap and the use of power color Doppler imaging in preoperative evaluation.The authors present case reports demonstrating the trilevel utility of the inferiorly based rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap in the closure of complex wounds involving the pelvis, groin, and femur that had failed previously or were not amenable to traditional closure techniques. The use of the rectus abdominis flap was especially advantageous for achieving infection eradication and large dead space closure. Additionally they present the emerging technique of power color Doppler imaging as a valuable tool in preoperative flap planning. This technique is particularly useful in evaluating the candidacy for rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap placement of patients with a prior history of abdominal surgeries, trauma, infection, irradiation, or other conditions that might compromise the patency of the deep inferior epigastric vessels.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/63. Nurse-managed wound clinic. A case study in success.The wound Care Clinic at Naval Hospital Charleston is a nurse-managed ambulatory clinic that has demonstrated the successful application of nursing case management in caring for patients with chronic and complex wounds. Nursing case management is an outcomes-based system of assessment, planning, provision of nursing services, coordination of interdisciplinary efforts, education, and referral. Nursing case management has been shown, in the literature and at Naval Hospital Charleston, to be an extension of role of professional nursing practice and results in decreased costs, improved quality of care, faster wound healing times, decreased complications, and greater coordination of care between specialty disciplines. These positive results are illustrated in several case studies. Nursing case management has many implications for the successful implementation of any healthcare delivery system where decreased costs and improved quality of care are valued, and it has special benefit in the complex management of chronically ill patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/63. Benign lymphangioendothelioma of the thigh simulating a low-grade angiosarcoma.Benign lymphangioendothelioma (BL) is a rare vascular neoplasm that can histopathologically mimic a low-grade angiosarcoma or the patch stage of Kaposi sarcoma. We report on the case of a 49-year-old man with a benign lymphangioendothelioma on the right thigh that evolved on a vascular birthmark after a trauma. Because of constant pain and the slow but progressive growth of the lesion, we decided to excise the tumor. Three stages of surgery were needed to obtain negative margins. We review the reports of BL to date, with special attention to those that developed after trauma and those that had a preexistent vascular lesion, and expound on the histopathologic differential diagnosis with low-grade angiosarcoma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.15446759527561keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/63. Treatment of hostile midline back wounds: an extreme approach.The basic principles of successful wound closure remain the same: careful preoperative evaluation, removal of underlying nonviable tissue, and well-vascularized soft-tissue coverage. Many complex or "hostile" back wound closures also require stabilization of the spine and a two-layered wound closure. The use of long arteriovenous fistulas with free tissue transfer provides an additional weapon for the treatment of these complex wounds.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/63. Patterns of spread in complex regional pain syndrome, type I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy).There are reports that complex regional pain syndrome, type I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy; CRPS-I/RSD) can spread from the initial site of presentation, but there are no detailed descriptions of the pattern(s) of such spread. We describe a retrospective analysis of 27 CRPS-I/RSD patients who experienced a significant spread of pain. Three patterns of spread were identified. 'Contiguous spread (CS)' was noted in all 27 cases and was characterized by a gradual and significant enlargement of the area affected initially. 'Independent spread (IS)' was noted in 19 patients (70%) and was characterized by the appearance of CRPS-I in a location that was distant and non-contiguous with the initial site (e.g. CRPS-I/RSD appearing first in a foot, then in a hand). 'Mirror-image spread (MS)' was noted in four patients (15%) and was characterized by the appearance of symptoms on the opposite side in an area that closely matched in size and location the site of initial presentation. Only five patients (19%) suffered from CS alone; 70% also had IS, 11% also had MS, and one patient had all three kinds of spread. Our results suggest that CRPS-I/RSD spread may not be a unitary phenomenon. In some it may be due to a local spread of pathology (CS); in others it may be a consequence of a generalized susceptibility (IS). In the MS case, spread may be due to abnormal neural functioning spreading via commissural pathways. Alternatively, we discuss the possibility that all three kinds of spread may be due to aberrant CNS regulation of neurogenic inflammation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/63. Post-traumatic fibro-osseous lesion of the ribs and scapula (sclerosing xanthofibroma).Fibrous lesions of bone may be difficult to classify. Their etiology is controversial, most being considered to be developmental lesions rather than true neoplasms. We describe a patient with post-traumatic fibro-osseous lesion of the ribs, also known as sclerosing xanthofibroma; a lesion believed to be a reactive response to intramedullary hemorrhage following chest wall trauma. Clinically, the lesions in our patient were thought to be metastatic disease because of their multifocal appearance. An extensive clinical and laboratory metastatic evaluation with surgical resection of one of the lesions using intraoperative gamma probe was undertaken. In addition to the multiple rib involvement, our case also showed a lesion in the scapula. The pathologic and radiologic features of this entity are reviewed along with the summary of the differential diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.15446759527561keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/63. Promoting patient partnership in wound care.Involving patients in their care is a key component of the NHS plan and clinical governance (Department of health, 1999a). Involvement is enhanced through nurse-patient relationships which are based on partnership in which the patient's viewpoint is given equal weight to that of the practitioner. In the management of wounds, this may be complex due to conflict between clinically effective treatment and a patient's wish. High quality care relies on a holistic assessment of the patient and a negotiated care plan which is implemented and evaluated in order to judge the effectiveness of care.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/63. Avance: silver hydropolymer dressing for critically colonized wounds.Avance is a hydropolymer dressing that has a silver compound bonded into it. The silver acts as a bacterial shield to prevent bacterial invasion, and as a bacterial barrier to impede cross-infection. This article aims to give an overview of the use of silver in eradicating surface bacteria, and provides case study evidence of the use of Avance on the leg ulcers of two patients. Both patients had complex medical histories and underlying aetiologies that delayed the wound-healing process.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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