Risk factors and predictors of mortality in children after ejection from motor vehicle crashes.

PURPOSE: Mortality after ejection from a motor vehicle crash (MVC) has been studied extensively in adults. The magnitude of this problem in children is relatively unknown. We retrospectively examined fatalities resulting from ejection after MVC in the state of Pennsylvania to define risk factors and predictors of mortality in children. METHODS: The records for all patients 0 to 16 years of age involved in an MVC and entered in the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study between 1993 and 1997 were reviewed. We examined mortality, length of hospitalization, major injuries sustained, and impact of safety restraint devices. Significant differences were determined using chi2 test. RESULTS: There were 2,298 children involved in MVCs during this period; 189 were ejected. A total of 77% of the ejected passengers were greater than 10 years of age, 16% were 0 to 4 years of age, and 7% were 5 to 9 years of age. Overall, 88% of the ejected occupants were unrestrained. Ejection nearly tripled the overall mortality rate and significantly increased the Injury Severity Score for each age group. Infants and children 0 to 4 years of age had the highest fatality rate despite having a lower Injury Severity Score than all other age groups. Head injuries accounted for the majority of deaths in all age groups. Children older than 10 years of age had a higher incidence of associated chest, abdominal, and pelvic injuries. CONCLUSION: Our data show that most children ejected from MVCs were either unrestrained or improperly restrained. Head injuries were the most common cause of death in all age groups. Greater public awareness through educational programs targeting parents and children at risk may reduce this serious problem.

Mechanisms of blunt perineal injury in female pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Controversy persists regarding the causes of and the morbidity associated with blunt perineal injuries in children. The purpose of this study was to determine the most common mechanisms of blunt perineal trauma in female pediatric patients and to define the subset of patients that may benefit the most from an examination under anesthesia (EUA). METHODS: Nearly 4,450 female pediatric patients were entered in the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study database between 1993 and 1997. The mechanism and extent of perineal injury, surgical repair, and associated injuries were examined for all girls 0 to 16 years of age with a diagnosis of blunt perineal trauma. RESULTS: A total of 358 girls experienced blunt perineal trauma. Motor vehicle crashes (MVC) accounted for the majority of injuries in all age groups. Falls and bicycle-related injuries were significantly more prevalent in children less than 9 years of age, and assaults in children 0 to 4 years. Head trauma was the most common associated injury in children less than 15 years. Children less than 10 years of age required surgical repair of their perineal injuries more frequently than their older counterparts. Perineal injuries caused by falls, assaults, or playground-related equipment were more likely to require surgical repair than those caused by other mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: Perineal injuries that require surgical repair occur predominantly in patients less than 10 years of age who sustain blunt perineal trauma from a variety of causes, but rarely MVC. Thus, such patients should undergo aggressive evaluation, including EUA, especially if they present with perineal bleeding, hematoma, or swelling. Furthermore, perineal injuries in children under 4 years should raise the suspicion of abuse.

Inhibitory effects of estrogen on stimulated salt appetite in rats.

Adult male rats consumed 50-150% more 0.5 M NaCl solution than females did during a 7-hr drinking test when robust salt appetite was elicited by dietary sodium deprivation for 8 days, daily injections of deoxycorticosterone, or adrenalectomy followed by 2 days of sodium deprivation. In contrast, male rats drank much less saline after systemic treatment with the natriuretic agent furosemide, adrenalectomy followed by 1 day of sodium deprivation, or sc treatment with colloid solution after 2 days of sodium deprivation, and female rats drank comparably small volumes. Conversely, 30-day-old prepubescent male and female rats showed equally robust salt appetites after 8 days of sodium deprivation. These and other findings support an inhibitory role of estrogen on salt appetite in rats, which appears to occur only when the appetite is especially pronounced.

Extended indications for placement of an inferior vena cava filter.

To study the morbidity and mortality rates after placement of an inferior vena cava filter and to define the appropriate indications for interruption of the inferior vena cava, the records of all patients who underwent insertion of a Greenfield filter during the decade January 1978 to December 1987 were reviewed. Patients were designated as having either a traditional or extended indication for placement of an inferior vena cava filter. Two hundred sixty inferior vena cava filters were placed in 264 attempts, with no deaths related to insertion of the filter. An extended indication was the primary reason for placement of the Greenfield filter in 66 (25%) of the patients. In patients with extended indications there were no cases of air embolism or filter misplacement and only three wound complications (4.5%). Pulmonary embolism after insertion of the inferior vena cava filter occurred in three patients (4.5%), with one fatality (1.5%). Inferior vena cava occlusion was documented in three cases (4.5%), and manifestations of the postphlebitic syndrome in early follow-up were present in two patients (3.0%). As the procedures to prevent fatal pulmonary embolism have become safer, more efficacious, and less morbid, the number of patients in whom the potential benefits of insertion of an inferior vena cava filter outweigh the risks has become larger. Our results support the liberalized use of Greenfield filters in those patients who do not necessarily have one of the traditional indications for placement of an inferior vena cava filter but are at a high risk of having a fatal pulmonary embolus.