1/271. Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome after cutaneous injury.OBJECTIVE: To describe three patients who developed Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome (VKH) after cutaneous injury. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. PARTICIPANTS: Three patients seen in the uveitis clinic at Aravind eye Hospital and Postgraduate Institute of ophthalmology, Madurai, india, participated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The history, evaluation, and management of the three patients were summarized. RESULTS: Three patients developed VKH syndrome shortly after cutaneous injury. In each case, the affected area of skin became vitiliginous on healing and simultaneous with the onset of ocular symptoms. One patient developed additional ectopic areas of vitiligo. All three patients developed chronic, bilateral, diffuse uveitis, one associated with an exudative retinal detachment and two with Dalen-Fuchs-like nodules. Well-recognized complications of VKH syndrome that occurred in the authors' patients included geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (3 of 3), cataract (3 of 3), and glaucoma (1 of 3). Ocular inflammation was well controlled in each patient with local or systemic corticosteroids or both. In one patient, the area of vitiligo showed increased pigmentation in response to systemic corticosteroid treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome may follow cutaneous injury, supporting the notion that this disorder may result from systemic sensitization to shared melanocytic antigens.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/271. An analysis of prehospital mortality in an earthquake. Disaster Reanimatology Study Group.INTRODUCTION: Anecdotal observations about prehospital emergency medical care in major natural and human-made disasters, such as earthquakes, have suggested that some injured victims survive the initial impact, but eventually die because of a delay in the application of life-saving medical therapy. methods: A multidisciplinary, retrospective structured interview methodology to investigate injury risk factors, and causes and circumstances of prehospital death after major disasters was developed. In this study, a team of united states researchers and Costa Rican health officials conducted a survey of lay survivors and health care professionals who participated in the emergency medical response to the earthquake in costa rica on 22 April 1991. RESULTS: Fifty-four deaths occurred prior to hospitalization (crude death rate = 0.4/1,000 population). Seventeen percent of these deaths (9/54) were of casualties who survived the initial impact but died at the scene or during transport. Twenty-two percent (2/9) were judged preventable if earlier emergency medical care had been available. Most injuries and deaths occurred in victims who were inside wooden buildings (p < .01) as opposed to other building types or were pinned by rubble from building collapse. Autopsies performed on a sample of victims showed crush injury to be the predominant cause of death. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of earthquake mortality in costa rica was protracted. Crush injury was the principal mechanism of injury and cause of death. The rapid institution of enhanced prehospital emergency medical services may be associated with a significant life-saving potential in these events.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.57142857142857keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/271. Bladder injuries during total laparoscopic hysterectomy: diagnosis, management, and prevention.Based on a series of 150 total hysterectomies carried out via laparoscopy between January 1993 and December 1994, we observed 2 bladder complications: 1 bladder injury and 1 vesicovaginal fistula. These two accidents form the basis of discussion on the risk factors for these complications, their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/271. hypercalcemia during the polyuric stage of acute renal failure.hypercalcemia developed during the polyuric phase of acute renal failure in a patient with crush injury. The hypercalcemia persisted for one week, with a maximal serum calcium level of 13.1 mg/dl. Possible mechanisms for the hypercalcemia are discussed, with emphasis on the combined effect of extensive tissue damage and acute renal failure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/271. 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 = 0.14285714285714keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/271. hypoglossal nerve injury as a complication of anterior surgery to the upper cervical spine.Injury to the hypoglossal nerve is a recognised complication after soft tissue surgery in the upper part of the anterior aspect of the neck, e.g. branchial cyst or carotid body tumour excision. However, this complication has been rarely reported following surgery of the upper cervical spine. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman with tuberculosis of C2-3. She underwent corpectomy and fusion from C2 to C5 using iliac crest bone graft, through a left anterior oblique incision. She developed hypoglossal nerve palsy in the immediate postoperative period, with dysphagia and dysarthria. It was thought to be due to traction neurapraxia with possible spontaneous recovery. At 18 months' follow-up, she had a solid fusion and tuberculosis was controlled. The hypoglossal palsy persisted, although with minimal functional disability. The only other reported case of hypoglossal lesion after anterior cervical spine surgery in the literature also failed to recover. It is concluded that hypoglossal nerve palsy following anterior cervical spine surgery is unlikely to recover spontaneously and it should be carefully identified.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.57142857142857keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/271. Post traumatic rupture of the right main bronchus: a rare clinical entity?Tracheobronchial disruption is an uncommon injury usually associated with severe blunt thoracic trauma and rarely occurs in isolation. We report a case of isolated rupture of the right main bronchus occurring after a crush injury without an associated pneumothorax. Difficulties in the diagnosis of this condition are briefly discussed and an algorithm of management presented.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/271. Two cases of chromobacterium violaceum infection after injury in a subtropical region.chromobacterium violaceum is a gram-negative rod and is isolated from soil and water in tropical and subtropical regions. The species have pigmented and nonpigmented colony types. Infections caused by nonpigmented strains are rare. We report on two cases of infection caused by both pigmented and nonpigmented strains of C. violaceum. Two 24-year-old korea Airline stewardesses were admitted to Inha University Hospital, Inchon, South korea, on 9 August 1997, 3 days after an airplane accident in guam. Both had multiple lacerations on exposed parts of their bodies. There was swelling, tenderness, and pus discharge. The wounds contained many small fragments of stones and weeds. A pigmented strain was isolated from the left hand and a nonpigmented strain was isolated from the left knee of one patient. For the other patient only a nonpigmented strain was isolated from a foot wound. The nonpigmented colonies from the left-knee and the left-foot wounds did not produce any pigment even after an extended period of incubation. The biochemical characteristics were the same for each strain except for oxidase and indole reactions. The pigmented strain was oxidase negative and indole positive, whereas the nonpigmented strains were oxidase positive and indole negative. The patients were successfully treated by debridement and with appropriate antibiotics.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.57142857142857keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/271. vacuum-assisted closure in the treatment of degloving injuries.Degloving injuries range from the occult, easily missed injury to obvious massive tissue damage. The serious nature of these wounds is exacerbated by mismanagement. It is generally accepted that the degloved tissue should be excised, defatted, fenestrated, and reapplied as a full-thickness skin graft. Dressings are required that provide gentle, evenly distributed pressure and avoid shear stress to the newly grafted skin. Numerous types of dressings have been devised but all are cumbersome and time-consuming. We have found the vacuum-Assisted Closure device to be a rapid, effective, and easy-to-use alternative to traditional methods. The authors examine their experience using a vacuum-assisted closure device to treat nine degloving injuries in 5 patients and discuss the important aspects in using this technique.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/271. Delayed splenic rupture in a haemophiliac.We report an unusual case of post-traumatic delayed rupture of the spleen occurring in a 38-year-old man with haemophilia A. The time interval between injury and splenic rupture was at least 2 weeks. Although a rare event, the possibility of splenic rupture should always be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with a bleeding disorder and abdominal pain, even when the patient does not initially give a history of abdominal injury. Radiological imaging, including ultrasound examination, is of great value in establishing the diagnosis. This case report includes a brief review of other similar cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = injury (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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