A simple automatic record of oxygenation and ventilation with a pulse oximeter and a carbon dioxide monitor.

Many cases have come to medicolegal attention in which a healthy patient undergoing a routine, elective operation has had an unexpected cardiac arrest attributed to hypoxia or hypercarbia. A simple, objective, automatic, inexpensive record of the adequacy of oxygenation and ventilation was obtained by using the Nellcor N-100 pulse oximeter, the Puritan-Bennett/Datex carbon dioxide monitor, and the Nellcor N-9000 recorder in combination. The required interface is described, and a sample record is presented. A second interface allows the recorder to work with the Puritan-Bennett anesthesia and brain activity monitor (ABM-1). Oxygen saturation can also be displayed on the video screen of the anesthesia and brain activity monitor.

Effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics in the outpatient treatment of burns.

We compared wound infection rates in 133 outpatient burns treated with prophylactic antibiotics in our emergency room and 161 similar, untreated burns. Infection rates in the treated and untreated groups were 3.8% (5/133) and 3.1% (5/161), respectively. Since this was an observational cohort study, it was necessary to demonstrate the comparability of treated and untreated groups with respect to risk factors for infection, including patient age, size, location, and etiology of the burn injury, time since injury, and presence of co-morbidity. The groups were found to be comparable for all risk factors except size of burn: larger burns were over-represented in the treated group (p less than 0.05). Even after controlling for size, antibiotic use did not lower the infection rate. These results argue strongly against routine use of systemic antibiotics in the treatment of outpatient burns.

Management of sclerodermal finger ulcers.

Ninety-three percent of 59 patients with scleroderma reviewed in this study presented with Raynaud's phenomenon at a mean age of 43 years; 65% of these developed fingertip ulcers within 4 years. Other common findings were sclerodactyly, distal phalangeal resorption, calcinosis cutis, and digital contractures. Medical management of the digital ulcers with systemic and regional vasodilating drugs was unsatisfactory. Sympathectomy, when performed early, temporarily relieved vasospastic pain but did not affect the course of the ulcers. Severe digital pain was the most incapacitating symptom resulting from vasospasm early in the course of the disease and irreversible arterial luminal narrowing later in the course. Conservative fingertip amputations for nonhealing ulcers constituted the management of choice to eradicate the ulcer, to reduce or eliminate the pain, and to return the hand to early useful function. A decision tree for the management of these ulcers is proposed.

Adequacy of antitetanus prophylaxis in six hospital emergency rooms.

We studied the adequacy of antitetanus prophylaxis given to 620 patients with open soft-tissue injuries by 169 physicians in six hospital emergency rooms. Twenty-three per cent of the patients were treated incorrectly (6 per cent were undertreated and 17 per cent were overtreated) with tetanus toxoid or human tetanus immunoglobulin. Undertreatment ranged from 4 to 11 per cent, and overtreatment from 5 to 38 per cent at the different hospitals (P less than 0.01). Patients at highest risk for tetanus (those with tetanus-prone wounds who had never been given a complete initial course of immunizations) had the lowest likelihood (27 per cent) of receiving correct antitetanus treatment. By following an immunization protocol based on time since injury, mechanism of injury, estimated bacterial contamination, presence of devitalized tissue, wound depth, and past immunizations, physicians can better protect the population against tetanus while lowering the risk of adverse drug reactions and not increasing the cost of care.

A protocol for selecting patients with injured extremities who need x-rays.

To help curb excessive radiography, we developed a protocol for selecting patients with injured extremities who need x-ray examination, and we tested the protocol prospectively in 848 patients to determine its safety and effectiveness. Strict adherence to the protocol would have reduced x-ray usage by 12 per cent for upper extremities and 19 per cent for lower extremities. The actual reductions were 5 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, since further reductions were limited by patient's demands for x-ray examinations. One fracture in 287 were missed, but the treatment was appropriate and the outcome satisfactory. By eliminating superfluous x-ray procedures, the protocol could reduce charges by $79 million to $139 million nationwide, without compromising quality of care or increasing malpractice liability. Nevertheless, even the best protocol cannot eliminate all negative x-ray studies. These results should serve as a stimulus for judicious use of radiography, but also as a warning to avoid overzealous cost-containment strategies that would reduce x-ray usage to below a safe threshold.

Posttraumatic herpes zoster.

Musculoskeletal trauma and its sequelae account for a large proportion of visits to acute health care facilities and practitioners of multiple medical specialties. There is a long-recognized association of posttraumatic pain with herpes zoster and three illustrative cases were encountered. Simple bony, nerve root, or soft-tissue abnormality may be mimicked by various stages of such processes. Serial observations are emphasized and proposed pathophysiology and therapy reviewed. Studies of acute and convalescent complement fixation titers and viral cultures of vesicular fluid in such cases would be of further interest.

Quality assessment and the art of medicine: the anatomy of laceration care.

Assuring high quality medical care has remained an elusive goal because of several problems which have hampered development of effective medical audit programs: inadequate patient data, unreasonable evaluative criteria and insensitive audit procedures. The present study demonstrates the use of a clinical algorithm to help overcome these problems. An examination of medical record data from a series of 703 laceration patients treated in an emergency service yielded only 27 cases (4 per cent) with medical records sufficiently complete to use for auditing physician compliance with algorithmic criteria. Substituting a structured checklist for the handwritten note increased this rate to 86 per cent. A computer-assisted branching audit of 1,400 laceration cases demonstrated that 1) physician compliance with an algorithmic instruction varied significantly (p less than .001) according to the specific instruction, and 2) compliance with a given instruction varied significantly (p less than .001) across different providers. These results underscore the need for medical audit with educational feedback which is provider specific.

Hand injuries: incidence and epidemiology in an emergency service.

During a four-month period, 1,164 patients presented to the surgical section of our Emergency Services (ES) with chief complaints involving the hand. Patient records were analyzed for several variables including demographics, diagnosis and therapeutic procedures. Lacerations were the most frequent injury, 61.5% (n=716) with deep structure injuries present in 6.1% (n=44). Of deep structure injuries, 36.4% were tendon lacerations, 27.2% were nerve injuries, and 36.4% were compound fractures. "Bites" accounted for 5.2% (37) of all lacerations, eight of which were human bites. Fractures were the second most frequent injury, (11.4%) and involved 143 separate bones. Infections were present in 7%; over half were paronychias. There were 42 (3.6%) thermal injuries.