Predictors of pleural complications in trauma patients undergoing tube thoracostomy: A prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: to identify variables related to pleural complications in patients undergoing tube thoracostomies due to traumatic injuries. METHOD: we conducted a prospective observational study from May/2019 to January/2021 including adult trauma patients submitted to tube thoracostomies after hospital admission. Patients undergoing thoracotomies as the initial treatment were not included. We excluded patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis during the hospitalization. Pleural complications were defined as clotted hemothorax, residual pneumothorax and empyema. Students t, Mann Whitneys, Chi square and Fishers exact test were used to compare variables between groups. We considered p<0.05 as significant. RESULTS: we analyzed 68 patients. The mean age was 36.0 + 12.6 years and 91.2% were male. The mean RTS and ISS were, respectively, 7.0 ± 1.6 and 15.9 ± 7.6. The most frequent trauma mechanism was stab wounds in 50.0%, followed by blunt trauma in 38.2%. The severity of thoracic injuries was stratified (AIS) as 2 (4.4%), 3 (80.9%), 4 (13.2%), e 5 (1.5%). Pleural complications happened in 14 (20.5%) patients, being clotted / residual hemothorax (11.8%), residual pneumothorax (4.4%), empyema (2.9%) and miscellaneous (1.4%). These patients were treated by thoracoscopy (5), thoracotomy (3), chest re-drainage (3) and clinical measures alone (3). There was a significant association between pleural complications with the time of permanence (p<0,001) and the necessity of relocation (p<0,001) of the drain. CONCLUSION: the predictors of pleural complications in this series were time of permanence and the necessity of relocation of the drain.

Management of non traumatic surgical emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemia

ABSTRACT In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, the first cases of what would be known as COVID-19, a disease caused by an RNA virus called SARS-CoV-2, were described. Its spread was rapid and wide, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March 2020. The disease has distinct clinical presentations, from asymptomatic to critical cases, with high lethality. Parallel to this, patients with non-traumatic surgical emergencies, such as acute appendicitis and cholecystitis, continue to be treated at the emergency services. In this regard, there were several doubts on how to approach these cases, among them: how to quickly identify the patient with COVID-19, what is the impact of the abdominal surgical disease and its treatment on the evolution of patients with COVID-19, in addition to the discussion about the role of the non-operative treatment for abdominal disease under these circumstances. In this review, we discuss these problems based on the available evidence. RESUMO Em dezembro de 2019, em Wuhan na China, foram descritos os primeiros casos do que seria conhecida como a COVID-19, doença causado por um RNA vírus denominado SARS-CoV-2. A disseminação foi rápida e ampla, levando a Organização Mundial de Saúde a decretar pandemia em março de 2020. A doença tem apresentação clínica variada, desde portadores assintomáticos até casos críticos, com alta letalidade. Paralelamente a isto, pacientes com urgências cirúrgicas não traumáticos, como apendicites agudas e colecistites agudas, continuam a ser atendidos nos serviços de emergências. Neste contexto, surgiram várias dúvidas sobre a conduta nestes casos, entre essas: como identificar rapidamente o paciente com COVID-19, qual o impacto da doença cirúrgica abdominal e o tratamento na evolução dos pacientes com COVID-19, além da discussão sobre o emprego de tratamento não operatório para a doença abdominal nestas circunstâncias. Nesta revisão, trazemos a discussão destes problemas sob a luz das evidências disponíveis.

Management of non traumatic surgical emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemia.

In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, the first cases of what would be known as COVID-19, a disease caused by an RNA virus called SARS-CoV-2, were described. Its spread was rapid and wide, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March 2020. The disease has distinct clinical presentations, from asymptomatic to critical cases, with high lethality. Parallel to this, patients with non-traumatic surgical emergencies, such as acute appendicitis and cholecystitis, continue to be treated at the emergency services. In this regard, there were several doubts on how to approach these cases, among them: how to quickly identify the patient with COVID-19, what is the impact of the abdominal surgical disease and its treatment on the evolution of patients with COVID-19, in addition to the discussion about the role of the non-operative treatment for abdominal disease under these circumstances. In this review, we discuss these problems based on the available evidence.