Self-cannibalism: the man who eats himself.

Self-mutilation is a general term for a variety of forms of intentional self-harm without the wish to die. Although there have been many reports of self-mutilation injuries in the literature, none have reported self-cannibalism after self-mutilation. In this article we present a patient with self-cannibalism following self-mutilation. A 34-year-old male patient was brought to the emergency department from the prison with a laceration on the right leg. Physical examination revealed a well-demarcated rectangular soft tissue defect on his right thigh. The prison authorities stated that the prisoner had cut his thigh with a knife and had eaten the flesh.

Intravenous paracetamol versus dexketoprofen versus morphine in acute mechanical low back pain in the emergency department: a randomised double-blind controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the analgesic efficacy and safety of intravenous, single-dose paracetamol versus dexketoprofen versus morphine in patients presenting with mechanical low back pain (LBP) to the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This randomised double-blind study compared the efficacy of intravenous 1 gm paracetamol, 50 mg dexketoprofen and 0.1 mg/kg morphine in patients with acute mechanical LBP. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for pain measurement at baseline, after 15 and after 30 min. RESULTS: A total of 874 patients were eligible for the study, and 137 of them were included in the final analysis: 46 patients from the paracetamol group, 46 patients in the dexketoprofen group and 45 patients in the morphine group. The mean age of study subjects was 31.5 ± 9.5 years, and 60.6% (n=83) of them were men. The median reduction in VAS score at the 30th minute for the paracetamol group was 65 mm (95% CI 58 to 72), 67 mm (95% CI 60 to 73) for the morphine group and 58 mm (95% CI 50 to 64) for the dexketoprophen group. Although morphine was not superior to paracetamol at 30 min (difference: 3.8 ± 4.9 (95% CI -6 to 14), the difference between morphine and dexketoprofen in reducing pain was 11.2 ± 4.7 (95% CI 2 to 21). At least one adverse effect occurred in 8.7% (n=4) of the cases in the paracetamol group, 15.5% (n=7) of the morphine group, and 8.7% (n=4) of the dexketoprophen group (p=0.482). CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous paracetamol, dexketoprofen and morphine are not superior to each other for the treatment of mechanical LBP in ED.

Work-related injuries in textile industry workers in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted as a survey including work-related injuries (WRI) of workers in the textile and clothing industry admitted to the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This prospective study included patients with WRI reportedly occurring in the textile and clothing industry over a two-year period. The study sample comprised only the casualties occurring at the workplace and while working de facto. RESULTS: A total of 374 patients were eligible for the study. More than three-fourths of the study sample were females (76.2%, n=285). A significant proportion of the patients were between 14 and 24 years of age (44.7%, n=167). Approximately two-thirds reported that this was their first admission to a hospital related to WRI (65.8%, n=246). WRIs occurred most frequently between 07:00-09:00 (27.3%) and 23:00-01:00 (17.9%). "Carelessness" and "rushing" were the most commonly reported causes of WRIs from the patients perspective (40.6% and 21.4%, respectively). Three-fourths of the patients reported that they were using protective equipment (74.3%, n=278). With respect to injury types, laceration/puncture/ amputation/avulsion injuries accounted for 55.6% (n=208) of the sample. Trauma to the upper extremities was the main type of injury in 75.1% (n=281) of the cases. CONCLUSION: Broad population-based studies are needed to define the situation as a whole in WRIs in the textile and clothing industry in the country. Strict measures should be undertaken and revised accordingly to prevent WRIs in these growing sectors.

Intravenous paracetamol versus morphine for renal colic in the emergency department: a randomised double-blind controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the analgesic efficacy and safety of intravenous single-dose paracetamol versus morphine in patients presenting to the emergency department with renal colic. METHODS: A randomised double-blind study was performed to compare the efficacy of intravenous paracetamol (1 g) and 0.1 mg/kg morphine in patients with renal colic. The efficacy of the study drugs was measured by a visual analogue scale and a verbal rating scale at baseline and after 15 and 30 min. The adverse effects and need for rescue medication (1 µg/kg intravenous fentanyl) were also recorded at the end of the study. RESULTS: 133 patients were eligible for enrolment in the study, with 73 patients included in the final analysis (38 in the paracetamol group and 35 in the morphine group). The mean±SD age of the subjects was 30.2±8.6 years and 51 (70%) were men. The mean reduction in scores at 30 min after study drug administration was 63.7 mm (95% CI 57 to 71) for paracetamol and 56.6 mm (95% CI 48 to 65) for morphine. The difference between pain reduction scores for the two groups at 30 min was 7.1 mm (95% CI -18 to 4), demonstrating no statistical or clinical significance. Two adverse events (5.3%) were recorded in the paracetamol group and five (14.3%) in the morphine group (difference 9%, 95% CI -7% to 26%). CONCLUSION: Intravenous paracetamol is effective in treating patients presenting with renal colic to the emergency department. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NO: ClinicalTrials.gov ID number NCT01318187.

[Domestic accidents involving women and first aid knowledge]. / Kadinlarin basina gelen ev kazalari ve ilk yardim bilgi düzeyleri.

BACKGROUND: Domestic accidents (DA) are preventable and untoward events occurring in a house, pool or garage. Those events constitute a major issue in the context of public health. The objective of this study was to highlight the characteristics of female involvement in DA and their level of knowledge regarding first aid. METHODS: Adult female relatives of patients presenting at the university-based emergency department within the six-month study period comprised the study sample. They were asked to answer a 23-item self-reported questionnaire, and the responses were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1017 women (mean age: 29.2±11.1 years) were enrolled in the study. Hand lacerations (n=924, 90.8%), sprain and contusions (n=904, 88.8%) and burns (n=803, 78.9%) were the most commonly reported types of DA. The children were reported to suffer mostly from hits, sprains and contusions (n=478, 91.7%), followed by falls and slipping (n=452, 86.7%). The telephone number of emergency medical services was recalled most frequently (n=871, 85.6%), while that of the poison control center was known least commonly (n=48, 4.7%). The group with the highest level of education had a significantly higher mean number of correct answers than that of the group with the lowest level of education (p=0.001). The knowledge level of the women who worked was significantly lower than that of the unemployed women (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Extensive training of women on DA should be undertaken and the mass media should be utilized to achieve this goal.

Football injuries on synthetic turf fields.

OBJECTIVES: Football injuries that occur during football matches played on synthetic fields and the features of these injuries were investigated and the data was pursued for the prevention and reduction of these injuries. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All adolescent and adult trauma cases who admitted to the Emergency Department with football injuries on synthetic fields were retrospectively investigated. Nine hundred and eighty-five male cases were detected with a mean age of 30.1±4.2 years (range 15-57 years). Age, gender, times of admittance to the Emergency Department, site of injury, type of injury, and clinical result data of the cases were examined. RESULTS: 19:00 to 24:00 hours (n=852, 86.5%) and weekdays were the most frequent admittance times. It was detected that lower-extremities (n=583, 59.2%) were the most commonly affected body parts and the upper-extremity injuries (n=281, 28.6%) and the head and neck injuries (n=75, 7.6%) were the second and third most commonly seen injuries, respectively.The most frequently observed injury types were contusions, abrasions and hematomas in all cases (n=364, 37.0%). Sprains/strains were the second most common types of injuries (n=343, 34.8%). When the final diagnoses of all cases were examined, it was determined that the anterior talofibular ligament injuries were the second most frequent after soft-tissue injuries (n=217, 22%). CONCLUSION: Football matches on synthetic fields can lead to serious orthopedic injuries. Investigation of the mechanisms of these injuries, which cause workday and economic losses, will be a guide for the future studies on the prevention of these injuries.