Blunt and penetrating trauma--has anything changed?

Management of abdominal trauma has changed significantly in the last decade. The next decade will also see significant change as imaging and minimally invasive surgical techniques evolve and more approaches are examined in well-designed prospective studies.

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy. A safe, cost-effective bedside procedure.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy performed in the intensive care unit. DESIGN: Retrospective review of 65 patients with cost-effectiveness analysis. SETTING: University-affiliated tertiary care teaching hospital with a 34-bed combined medical-surgical intensive care unit. PATIENTS: All patients who underwent percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy under the supervision of a single general surgeon during a 19-month period. Cost analysis was based on comparison with standard operative tracheostomies performed during the same period. RESULTS: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy was completed in all patients in whom it was attempted, regardless of airway anatomy, body habitus, and ventilator settings. The mean duration of the procedure performed in the intensive care unit was 13.6 minutes (95% confidence interval, 11.7 to 15.5 minutes). Intraoperative complications occurred in 14 patients (22%), most of which were minor technical difficulties, and none resulted in serious morbidity. Postoperative complications occurred in six patients (9%), including one death secondary to premature decannulation, three bleeding complications, one episode of subcutaneous emphysema, and one air leak. Two long-term airway complications after percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy were documented during a mean 7.5-month follow-up of 28 patients. Mean patient charges for the procedure performed in the intensive care unit by a surgeon, nurse, and respiratory therapist were $997 (95% confidence interval, $975 to $1018) compared with $2642 (95% confidence interval, $2513 to $2772) for standard tracheostomy (P<.001). This represented a savings of $1645 (95% confidence interval, $1492 to $1798) per tracheostomy. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy is a safe, rapid, cost-effective alternative to standard open tracheostomy. It can be performed at the bedside, obviating the need to transport critically ill patients from their optimal intensive care unit environment.

Management of major hepatic trauma involving interhospital transfer.

A recent 10-year experience with major liver trauma at the Maine Medical Center was reviewed in order to examine treatment options involving interhospital transfer in the management of major liver trauma in rural areas. Liver injuries of at least Grade III by the systems of Moore or Mirvis were included, except for patients admitted without vital signs. We found 98 cases of major hepatic trauma, of which 54 had been referred by 21 smaller hospitals. Of 15 patients received after laparotomy elsewhere, nine underwent reoperation for control of bleeding or removal of packs, and three died of associated injury or multiple organ failure (MOF). Of the other 39 transferred patients, 23 diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) were selected for nonoperative management with success, 11 survived after operation, one died of hemorrhage, and four died of associated injuries or MOF. For the entire group of 98 cases, adjuncts perceived as useful included perihepatic gauze packing (11 cases) and angiographic embolization (6 cases). Mortality increased with increasing magnitude of injury. Even with major hepatic trauma on CT, stable patients are unlikely to require surgery. Active hemorrhage in unstable patients may be controlled temporarily by expeditious operative techniques including gauze packing. These findings usually allow cooperation between rural hospital and referral center in the management of these potentially serious cases.

Blunt traumatic thoracic aortic lacerations in the elderly: an analysis of outcome.

We found no previous work examining outcome after blunt traumatic aortic laceration (TAL) that has focused on elderly patients (age > 55 years) with this lesion. A 20-year retrospective review from two trauma centers of survival outcome for patients with TAL was performed to assess the effects of surgical therapy in the elderly cohort. Seventy-five cases were identified. Patients were assigned to one of two groups (Young < 55 or Old > or = 55) and data were analyzed for differences between them. There was a significantly higher mortality rate in the elderly patients (82.4% Old vs. 12.1% Young; p < 0.001). Moreover, surgical treatment in the Old group had up to a 163-fold increased likelihood of mortality compared with surgical treatment in the Young group (p < 0.001). We conclude that Old patients have higher mortality associated with surgical repair of TAL. Because of the increased risk of surgical intervention for TAL, elderly patients may be candidates for nonsurgical management as has been advocated for patients with asymptomatic peripheral traumatic pseudoaneurysms.

Acute ethanol intoxication increases the risk of infection following penetrating abdominal trauma.

Acute alcohol (ETOH) intoxication as a risk factor for infection in trauma victims to our knowledge has not been previously reported. To determine if ETOH intoxication increases infection risk we examined data from 365 patients with penetrating abdominal trauma who were enrolled in a multi-center antibiotic study. Ninety-four patients sustained an injury to a hollow viscus. To separate acute from chronic ETOH effects, infections were divided into two categories: (1) trauma related; infections caused by bacterial contamination at the time of injury, while blood alcohol level (BAL) was elevated. (2) nosocomial; infections caused by bacteria acquired during hospital stay, after BAL had normalized. A BAL > or = 200 mg/dL was associated with a 2.6-fold increase in trauma-related infections. There was no association between BAL and subsequent nosocomial infection. Since infection rates for intoxicated patients were not higher after BAL had normalized, acute rather than chronic effects of ETOH appear to be responsible.

Blunt colonic injury--a multicenter review.

During the past decade there has been a shift in the management of injuries of the colon to primary repair without a protective diverting colostomy. Unfortunately, reports concerning this practice contain relatively few patients with blunt trauma and it is unclear whether the principles established for penetrating injury should be applied in the setting of blunt colon injury. A retrospective review of 54,361 major blunt trauma patients admitted to nine regional trauma centers from January 1, 1986, through December 31, 1990, was conducted. Statistical analysis of the data collected regarding 286 (0.5%) of these patients who suffered colonic injury revealed: (1) injury to the colon is found in more than 10% of patients undergoing laparotomy following blunt trauma; (2) available diagnostic modalities are unreliable in detecting isolated colonic pathology; (3) primary repair of full-thickness injuries or resection and anastomosis may be safely performed without diversion; (4) gross fecal contamination is the strongest contraindication to primary repair. Further, delay of surgery, shock, and the timing of antibiotic administration were not associated with significantly increased morbidity.

Nutritional assessment using a pulmonary artery catheter.

To determine if oxygen consumption (VO2) derived from the Fick equation (FE) can be used to determine energy expenditure (EE), 29 paired indirect calorimetry (IC) and FE VO2 determinations were obtained. The Weir equation was used to calculate EE from the FE VO2 value. There was a strong correlation between the methods (r = 0.82, p less than 0.001). Mean EE by IC and FE was 2460 +/- 539 and 2372 +/- 787 kcal/day, respectively, a difference of 88 +/- 467 kcal/day. A single IC determination is often used to guide nutrition for several days. To evaluate this practice, FE and IC determinations were repeated in 8 patients. There was a 19% difference in EE between initial and follow-up IC, which was identical to the mean difference between paired FE and IC measurements. FE can be used to estimate EE, and is as accurate as using a single IC reading to predict EE on subsequent days.

Continuous arteriovenous rewarming: rapid reversal of hypothermia in critically ill patients.

Hypothermia in critically ill patients can be difficult to treat with standard rewarming (SR) techniques. We developed a rewarming method that is significantly faster than SR. Percutaneously placed femoral arterial and venous catheters were connected to the inflow and outflow side of a countercurrent fluid warmer to create a fistula through the heating mechanism (CAVR). Over a 10-month period 34 hypothermic (temperature less than 35 degrees C) patients were treated. Eighteen received SR only; CAVR was added to SR in the remaining 16 patients. Both groups were similar in APACHE II, Injury Severity, and Acute Physiology scores, prewarming blood and fluid requirements, and incidence of coagulopathy. Hypothermia resolved in 39 minutes with CAVR vs. 3.23 hours with SR (p less than 0.001). This was associated with an improved survival after moderately severe injury (p = 0.04), and a significant reduction in blood and fluid requirements, organ failures, and length of ICU stay.