Automobile versus pedestrian injuries: does gender matter?

BACKGROUND: Automobile vs. pedestrian (AVP) injuries cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Gender may be an important factor in determining the anatomic distribution and severity of these injuries. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of gender on the nature and severity of automobile vs. pedestrian injuries and the outcome. METHODS: Trauma registry study that included all AVP pedestrian injuries admitted during a 14-year period to a Level I trauma center. The following variables were included in an Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) file for the purpose of this study: age, gender, body area Abbreviated Injury Score, Injury Severity Score, specific fractures (pelvic, spine, femur, tibia), survival, and intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay. RESULTS: The study population included 6965 patients, 67.3% of whom were male. Overall, 20.7% were in the age group < 15 years, 60.5% in the age group 15-55 years, 7.6% in the age group 56-65 years, and 11.1% in the age group > 65 years. Pelvic fractures were significantly more common in females than males (20.7% vs. 11.4%, respectively, p < 0.0001). This difference was present in all age groups, but especially in the groups 56-65 years (28.5% vs. 12.3%, respectively, p < 0.0001) and > 65 years (32.5% vs. 15.7%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Males in the age group 15-55 years were significantly more likely to suffer tibia fractures (31.8% vs. 25.7%, respectively, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed no difference in survival or ICU stay between the two genders, but there was a significantly longer hospital stay in males 15-65 years. CONCLUSIONS: Gender plays a significant role in the incidence of pelvic and tibial fractures but has no effect on survival or ICU stay, but male patients in the age group 15-65 years had a significantly longer hospital stay.

Complications following renal trauma.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the incidence and type of kidney-related complications among different modes of management for kidney injuries. DESIGN: Trauma registry and medical record review study. SETTING: Level I trauma center in Los Angeles, California. PATIENTS: All patients with renal trauma injuries treated from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2006. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Severity of kidney injury, method of renal treatment, and kidney-related complications. RESULTS: During the study period, 889 patients had kidney injuries, 227 of whom (25.5%) had severe kidney injuries. In 568 patients (63.9%), the kidney was not explored; 173 patients (19.5%) underwent total nephrectomy, 53 (6.0%) underwent partial nephrectomy, and 95 (10.7%) underwent kidney repair. Of the 227 patients with severe kidney injuries, 89 (39.2%) received no exploration, 105 (46.3%) underwent total nephrectomy, 25 (11.0%) underwent partial nephrectomy, and 8 (3.5%) underwent nephrorrhaphy. The overall incidence of kidney-related complications excluding renal failure was 5.2%. The kidney repair group was significantly more likely to develop local kidney-related complications than the total nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, and no kidney exploration groups, even though the nephrorrhaphy group had less severe kidney injuries. Patients with minor or moderate kidney injuries who underwent kidney exploration had more than twice the local complication rate than patients with no kidney exploration (7.1% vs 3.3%, P = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Selective nonoperative management is safe for blunt and penetrating kidney injuries. Patients managed with nephrorrhaphy are at higher risk for local kidney-related complications than other therapeutic modalities. Patients with minor or moderate kidney injuries treated with exploration of the kidney are more likely to develop local complications than those treated without exploration.

Evolving pathogens in the surgical intensive care unit: a 6-year experience.

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) are well-known causes of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Further complicating this issue is the ever-increasing number of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This study was designed to investigate and document changing microbial trends within the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center surgical ICU (SICU), including drug-resistant pathogens. METHODS: A 6-year retrospective cohort study of all patients 18 to 85 years old with positive blood, urine, or sputum cultures admitted to an urban, level 1 trauma/SICU. Patients were identified through the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center epidemiological records and computerized ICU database. The entire data set was analyzed according to pathogen classification schemes, culture date, type of infection, and with some patient characteristics including sex, average age, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score. Two groups were created to analyze changing trends: a past group (2000-2002 cultures) and a present group (2003-2005 cultures). Any repeated cultures were excluded, as was coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, which was considered a contaminant. RESULTS: Over the past 6 years, there were 1164 SICU patients who developed 2260 positive cultures (346 blood, 1,685 respiratory, 229 urine). The average age of patients was 43 +/- 19 years, and their average Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 22 +/- 12. Of the 1164 patients, 76% were male, and 64% suffered trauma injuries. Although there was no difference in the rate of positive blood cultures caused by Gram-positive (GP) or Gram-negative (GN) organisms in the past and present groups (P = .32), GPs became more common in the present group for both respiratory (P < .0001) and urine (P = .004) cultures. In both blood and respiratory cultures, oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was a more common GP pathogen (22% vs 7%, P = .004 and 20% vs 11%, P = .004) and represented a larger proportion of staphylococcal species in the present group (50% vs 21%, P = .01 and 30% vs. 21%, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that within the SICU, GP organisms play an increasing pathogenic role in critical patients. Staphylococcal species have become more common pathogens in the last 6 years, with an increase in the proportion of drug-resistant strains (oxacillin-resistant S aureus). These findings illustrate the need to keep constant surveillance on microbial trends within the SICU, especially those among drug-resistant pathogens.

Evaluation of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition in an orthotopic murine model of lung cancer for dose-dependent effect.

OBJECTIVES: Cyclooxygenase-2 plays a role in growth, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis in lung cancer. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 with celecoxib has been shown to inhibit tumor growth. We evaluated the effect of increasing doses of celecoxib in a murine model of human lung cancer. METHODS: Human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) were implanted in the left lung upper lobe of mice with severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome. Mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups at implantation (n = 10 per group): control, 125 mg/kg chow, 500 mg/kg chow, 1000 mg/kg chow. After 3 weeks, mice were killed, and a blinded observer measured total tumor volume. The dose effect of celecoxib was examined in vitro by studying cell proliferation, expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (mRNA and protein), and production of prostaglandin E 2 in unstimulated and interleukin 1beta-stimulated cells. RESULTS: All 40 mice survived for 3 weeks with no observed toxicities. Total tumor volume was inhibited in each celecoxib group ( P = .0038, Welch analysis of variance): 206.7 +/- 119.5 mm 3 (control group), 41.4 +/- 54.0 mm 3 (low-dose group), 34.5 +/- 39.3 mm 3 (medium-dose group), and 27.3 +/- 53.6 mm 3 (high-dose group). In vitro celecoxib was effective at inhibiting production of prostaglandin E 2 , even in stimulated cells, although little effect was seen on cyclooxygenase-2 protein levels. Inhibition of proliferation was evident only at doses that exceeded those used in the animal model. CONCLUSION: Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 with low-dose celecoxib restricted the growth of lung cancer in this model. This might be mediated by prostaglandin E 2 . Higher doses of celecoxib afforded no additional benefit. Chronic therapy with low-dose cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition has the potential to influence tumor progression in non-small cell lung cancer.