Cadet Agustín Melgar and military peripheral vascular trauma approach during Chapultepec's Battle.

Trauma to peripheral vascular organ is a very frequent condition during military conflicts. Fortunately, comprehensive understanding of local and systemic pathophysiology, in addition to the development of innovative surgical techniques and technological advances, have improved the outcome regarding to survival and anatomic and functional conservation of the limbs. In this manuscript, we perform an historical and state of the art review related to the approach of the peripheral vascular trauma, on the basis of an heroical episode from the Mexico City's Campaign, during North American invasion 1846-1848: the defense of Chapultepec's Castle by cadet Agustin Melgar.

El trauma del órgano vascular periférico es una condición muy frecuente en los conflictos militares. Por fortuna, la comprensión integral de la fisiopatología local y sistémica, en adición al desarrollo de técnicas quirúrgicas innovadoras y avances tecnológicos, ha mejorado el pronóstico relativo a la sobrevida y la conservación anatómica y funcional de las extremidades. En este trabajo se hace una revisión histórica y del estado actual del abordaje del trauma vascular periférico, sobre la base de un episodio heroico de la Campaña por la Ciudad de México durante la invasión norteamericana de 1846-1848: la defensa del Castillo de Chapultepec por el cadete Agustín Melgar.

[Toracotomía en el departamento de urgencias en una paciente con actividad eléctrica sin pulso no traumática: potencial ampliación del horizonte terapéutico de una intervención de alta especialidad]. / Emergency department thoracotomy in a patient with non-traumatic pulseless electrical activity: potential widening of the therapeutic horizon of a high-specialty intervention.

Instituida bajo recomendaciones objetivas, la toracotomía en el departamento de urgencias (TDU) se ha descrito como una maniobra quirúrgica salvatoria de la vida en pacientes traumatizados in extremis. Sin embargo, hay pocos reportes acerca de la experiencia con su empleo en la actividad eléctrica sin pulso no traumática. Describimos el caso de una paciente obstétrica exanguinada por sangrado masivo transoperatorio, en la que se realizó una TDU con un resultado óptimo para la vida y la función neurológica. Adicionalmente, evaluamos la literatura correspondiente al tema, que en lo mejor de nuestro conocimiento es crítica para expandir los protocolos de abordaje del ritmo de paro cardiaco no traumático en los hospitales de alto volumen.Instituted under objective recommendations, Emergency Department Thoracotomy (EDT) has been described as a life-saving surgical maneuver in trauma patients arriving "in extremis." Nevertheless, there are few reports related to the experience regarding the use of the procedure in non-traumatic cardiopulmonary arrest. We describe the case of an obstetric patient exsanguinated by operative massive bleeding, where EDT was instituted reaching an optimal result for the survival and neurologic function. Additionally, we evaluate the literature related to this issue, which to the best of our knowledge, is critical to expand protocols of approach in non-traumatic cardiac arrest rhythm in high-volume hospitals.

[Non-surgical management after blunt traumatic liver injuries: A review article]. / Tratamiento no operatorio de las lesiones hepáticas por trauma no penetrante: artículo de revisión.

Hepatic trauma is a common cause for admissions in the Emergency Room. Currently, non-surgical management is the standard treatment in haemodynamically stable patients with a success rate of around 85 to 98%. This haemodynamic stability is the most important factor in selecting the appropriate patient. Adjuncts in non-surgical management are angioembolisation, image-guided drainage and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Failure in non-surgical management is relatively rare but potentially fatal, and needs to be recognised and aggressively treated as early as possible. The main cause of failure in non-surgical management is persistent haemorrhage. The aim of this paper is to describe current evidence and guidelines that support non-surgical management of liver injuries in blunt trauma.

[Injury mechanisms in extreme violence settings]. / Mecanismos de lesión en actos de violencia extrema.

Extreme violence events are consequence of current world-wide economic, political and social conditions. Injury patterns found among victims of extreme violence events are very complex, obeying several high-energy injury mechanisms. In this article, we present the basic concepts of trauma kinematics that regulate the clinical approach to victims of extreme violence events, in the hope that clinicians increase their theoretical armamentarium, and reflecting on obtaining better outcomes.