Ten-Year Trends in Traumatic Cardiac Injury and Outcomes: A Trauma Registry Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac injury is a significant cause of death in patients with traumatic injuries. The Oklahoma Trauma Registry collects data from acute care hospitals in Oklahoma. This study investigated the trends and outcomes of traumatic cardiac injury in Oklahoma over a 10-year period. METHODS: The Oklahoma Trauma Registry tracks patients with major severity and one of the following criteria: hospital stay 48 hours or longer, death on arrival or in the hospital, hospital transfer, intensive care unit admission, or surgery. Cardiac injuries were identified from data acquired 2005 to 2014. Characteristics, mechanisms of injury, associated injuries, and outcomes were analyzed. Results were further divided into blunt vs penetrating injuries and operative vs nonoperative management. RESULTS: Of 107,549 patients, 426 patients suffered cardiac injury, and 160 patients suffered penetrating trauma. Commonly associated injuries were rib fractures, pneumothorax, hemothorax, and intraabdominal injuries. Of blunt cardiac injuries, 26.7% had spinal fractures. Operative management occurred in 16.9%. Overall mortality rate was 35.7% (51.9% in penetrating and 26.3% in blunt injuries). Mortality was higher for patients who had operative management but was similar in penetrating and blunt cardiac injury. Over 10 years, the percentage of cardiac injury decreased. However, mortality in patients who suffered a cardiac injury increased, correlating with an increase in proportion of penetrating cardiac injury. CONCLUSIONS: Traumatic cardiac injury, particularly penetrating injury, continues to be a significant source of mortality. Analysis of state-base trauma registries can identify trends in causes of injury and death, serving as a reference point for quality improvement, therapeutic triage, and preventative action plans.

High hepatitis C virus infection among female sex workers in Viet Nam: strong correlation with HIV and injection drug use.

OBJECTIVE: The World Health Organization's guidelines on viral hepatitis testing and treatment recommend prioritizing high prevalence groups. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection disproportionately affects people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men, but data on female sex workers (FSW) are limited. The study aimed to determine active HCV infection and risk factors associated with HCV exposure among Vietnamese FSW. METHODS: We surveyed 1886 women aged ≥ 18 years from Haiphong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City who had sold sex in the last month. We tested for HCV antibody and HCV core antigen as markers for exposure to HCV and active infection, respectively. RESULTS: Across these provinces, high prevalence of HCV exposure (8.8-30.4%) and active infection (3.6-22.1%) were observed. Significant associations with HCV exposure were HIV infection (aOR = 23.7; 95% CI: 14.8-37.9), injection drug use (aOR = 23.3; 95% CI: 13.1-41.4), history of compulsory detention (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.4-4.2) and having more than 10 sex clients in the last month (aOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2-3.2). Among FSW who reported never injecting drugs, HIV infection (aOR = 24.2; 95% CI: 14.8-39.4), a history of non-injection drug use (aOR = 3.3, CI: 1.8-5.7), compulsory detention (aOR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.2-4.0) and having over 10 sex clients in the last month (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-3.7) were independently associated with HCV exposure. DISCUSSION: FSW have elevated HCV risks through sex- and drug-related pathways. These findings highlight the need to offer FSW-targeted HCV interventions and ensure their access to HIV prevention and treatment.

Sampling Males Who Inject Drugs in Haiphong, Vietnam: Comparison of Time-Location and Respondent-Driven Sampling Methods.

Accurate measurements of HIV prevalence and associated risk factors among hidden and high-risk groups are vital for program planning and implementation. However, only two sampling methods are purported to provide representative estimates for populations without sampling frames: time-location sampling (TLS) and respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Each method is subject to potential biases and questionable reliability. In this paper, we evaluate surveys designed to estimate HIV prevalence and associated risk factors among people who inject drugs (PWID) sampled through TLS versus RDS. In 2012, males aged ≥16 years who reported injecting drugs in the previous month and living in Haiphong, Vietnam, were sampled using TLS or RDS. Data from each survey were analyzed to compare HIV prevalence, related risk factors, socio-demographic characteristics, refusal estimates, and time and expenditures for field implementation. TLS (n = 432) and RDS (n = 415) produced similarly high estimates for HIV prevalence. Significantly lower proportions of PWID sampled through RDS received methadone treatment or met an outreach worker. Refusal estimates were lower for TLS than for RDS. Total expenditures per sample collected and number of person-days of staff effort were higher for TLS than for RDS. Both survey methods were successful in recruiting a diverse sample of PWID in Haiphong. In Vietnam, surveys of PWID are conducted throughout the country; although the refusal estimate was calculated to be much higher for RDS than TLS, RDS in Haiphong appeared to sample PWID with less exposure to services and required fewer financial and staff resources compared with TLS.