Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0729233 (Thoracic)
 6,478 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pulmonary failure is almost always present in the early or late phase of multiple organ failure (MOF). Acute lung failure (ALF) is a uniquely constant response to direct or indirect insults to the lung. Increased pulmonary microvascular permeability (PMVP) is associated with the onset of lung permeability edema, the hallmark of ALF. The sequence of PMVP and the development of ALF caused by direct insults are studied. METHODS. A series of 255 trauma patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) from 1987 to 1988 were enrolled in this prospective study. ALF was defined as stage III of the Posttraumatic Pulmonary Insufficiency Score; sepsis syndrome, according to Montgomery; organ failure, as stage II of the MOF score, and MOF was recorded when at least two organs had failed. Thoracic injury and aspiration were expected as direct, sepsis and shock alone as indirect insults to the lung. A computerized large field of view gamma camera was used to measure PMVP simultaneously over both lungs by means of 113mIn-transferrin and 99mTc-erythrocytes. The pulmonary microvascular permeability index (PMVPI; %/h) was used to quantify PMVP in the dynamic scintigraphic measurement. RESULTS. Of the 255 trauma patients (ISS = 33.9 +/- 18.7), 21% (52) patients (ISS = 41 +/- 17.8) developed ALF. 50 (or 96%) of the ALF patients developed MOF in addition, and 27 (72%) of the patients with directly induced ALF developed sepsis syndrome later. Direct lung injury was present in 77% (37) of the patients with posttraumatic ALF. Thoracic injury was the main cause of ALF: 58% (30) of 52 patients with ALF had a thoracic injury, which was true of only 30% of the non-ALF group (P less than 0.05). 33 (or 89%) of the ALF patients with direct injury developed ALF less than 72 h after injury (early ALF), and only 11% (4) later than 72 h after injury (late ALF). Indirect injury of the lung was present in 22% (12) of the patients with posttraumatic ALF. Indirectly induced ALF occurred in less than 72 h in 36% (4) and more than 72 h after injury in 64% (7) trauma patients. PMVP was determined in 21 of the 30 patients with thoracic injury. Initial evaluation of these patients with direct induced ALF showed significantly elevated (P less than 0.01) PMVP for the traumatized (PMVPI = 10.8 +/- 5.1%/h) but normal values for the nontraumatized lung (PMVPI = 3.9 +/- 3.4%/h), whereas 4 days later the PMVP increased significantly (P less than 0.05) on the primarily healthy side (PMVPI = 8.0 +/- 5.0%/h) while remaining elevated for the traumatized lung (PMVPI = 10.9 +/- 6.0%/h). In the control group the PMVPI was 2.6 +/- 2.8%/h for the right and 2.0 +/- 2.8%/h for the left lung. Similar values were found in mechanically ventilated ICU patients without ALF. DISCUSSION. Direct injury seems to be the dominant mechanism for early manifestation (less than 72 h) of posttraumatic ALF. The thoracic trauma seems to damage the pulmonary endothelium directly, thus increasing PMVP in a circumscribed region. An overwhelming inflammatory response may cause the later increase in PMVP in the primarily healthy lung areas.
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PMID:[Acute lung failure following thoracic trauma]. 227 73

The authors evaluated the usefulness of different trauma indices in the prediction of outcome following penetrating cardiac wounds. Sixty-three patients were retrospectively reviewed. Age, mechanism of injury, Physiologic Index (PI) on admission, site of injury, associated injuries, ISS, RTS, Penetrating Cardiac Trauma Index (PCTI), Penetrating Thoracic Trauma Index (PTTI), Penetrating Trauma Index (PTI), TRISS and mortality rate were reviewed. There were 34 patients with a gunshot wound (GSW) and 29 with a stab wound (SW). Shock was present on admission in 88.9 per cent. Mortality was 83 per cent for GSW, 44 per cent for SW, and 39 per cent for patients arriving the hospital with measurable blood pressure. RTS, PI, PCTI, PTTI, PTI, and ISS reached statistical significance when comparing survivors and nonsurvivors. The probability of survival (PS) based on the TRISS methodology was 37.84 +/- 5.14. The observed survival rate was 38 per cent. Fourteen patients were considered "fatal" on admission and underwent an emergency thoracothomy. Mortality rate for this selected group was 100 per cent. We conclude that physiologic impairment, shock, and GSW are variables with high significance on mortality. Trauma indices such as PI, RTS, PCTI, PTTI, PTI, and ISS are good predictors of outcome. Trauma indices are an important tool to objectively compare results among different institutions.
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PMID:Penetrating cardiac wounds: predictive value of trauma indices and the necessity of terminology standardization. 773 54

We evaluated the type and severity of injuries and the possible influence of a helicopter staffed by a physician on the outcome of 71 consecutive occupants ejected from a four-wheel vehicle ejected occupants who were cared for by the Swiss Air Rescue Helicopter team from January 1994 to February 1999. The investigation and the data collection were planned prospectively. The following data were collected for each patient ejected from a four wheel vehicle: (1) demographic information; (2) type of injury; (3) vital signs on scene, in flight and at hospital; (4) hospital diagnosis; (5) injury severity score; (6) secondary transfer; (7) length of stay in hospital and on intensive care; and (8) outcome at hospital discharge. A control group included consecutive patients cared for by the same rescue team during the same period but who were not ejected out of their vehicle. Forty-four percent of the ejected patients had a GCS < or = 8, 21% were hypotensive and 22% had respiratory problems. Nine patients died at the scene. A total of 53% of the 62 ejected patients who were transported had an ISS > or = 16. The median ISS was 17. A total of 37% of the patients were intubated at the scene, needle chest decompression was performed in 5% and major analgesia was used in 27% of the cases. A total of 38% of the patients needed surgery in the first 4 h, 34% needed intensive care. No patient needed secondary transfer to the Trauma Centre if they were not brought there in the first instance. The outcome was poor in 27 cases (38%): 17 died and 10 needed transfer to specialised institutions. Non-ejected patients suffered mostly from head and neck injuries (50%) of which 9% were severe (head and neck AIS > or = 4, P < 0.05). Thoracic injuries were less frequent (35%) of which 13% were severe (thorax AIS > or = 4, P < 0,05). The median ISS was 9 for the non-ejected patients, P < 0.05. In conclusion, ejection from a four-wheel vehicle causes more severe injuries and requires a high number of advanced life support manoeuvres. Based on the mechanism of injury alone, patients ejected from four-wheel vehicles should automatically receive a response from the best available pre-hospital team. In our system, this means the dispatch of a physician staffed helicopter.
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PMID:Ejection as a key word for the dispatch of a physician staffed helicopter: the Swiss experience. 1138 22