Risk of suicide after a concussion Fralick, Michael; Thiruchelvam, Deva; Tien, Homer C ...
CMAJ. Canadian Medical Association journal,
04/2016, Volume:
188, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Head injuries have been associated with subsequent suicide among military personnel, but outcomes after a concussion in the community are uncertain. We assessed the long-term risk of suicide after ...concussions occurring on weekends or weekdays in the community.
We performed a longitudinal cohort analysis of adults with diagnosis of a concussion in Ontario, Canada, from Apr. 1, 1992, to Mar. 31, 2012 (a 20-yr period), excluding severe cases that resulted in hospital admission. The primary outcome was the long-term risk of suicide after a weekend or weekday concussion.
We identified 235,110 patients with a concussion. Their mean age was 41 years, 52% were men, and most (86%) lived in an urban location. A total of 667 subsequent suicides occurred over a median follow-up of 9.3 years, equivalent to 31 deaths per 100,000 patients annually or 3 times the population norm. Weekend concussions were associated with a one-third further increased risk of suicide compared with weekday concussions (relative risk 1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.14-1.64). The increased risk applied regardless of patients' demographic characteristics, was independent of past psychiatric conditions, became accentuated with time and exceeded the risk among military personnel. Half of these patients had visited a physician in the last week of life.
Adults with a diagnosis of concussion had an increased long-term risk of suicide, particularly after concussions on weekends. Greater attention to the long-term care of patients after a concussion in the community might save lives because deaths from suicide can be prevented.
To determine if reducing prehospital time and time-to-craniotomy is associated with decreased mortality in trauma patients with acute subdural hematomas.
Time-to-treatment is an important performance ...filter for trauma systems, yet very little evidence exists to support its use. Despite the biological rationale supporting the notion of the "Golden Hour" for trauma patients, no evidence exists to support it. Likewise, it remains controversial whether or not time-to-craniotomy is associated with survival in patients with subdural hematomas. Previous studies may have been affected by selection bias.
Retrospective cohort study of all trauma patients who arrived directly from the scene of injury. Study patients were all patients with acute subdural hematomas and without severe torso injuries, who required craniotomy at a Canadian level 1 trauma center from January 1 1996 to December 31 2007. The independent variables of interest were prehospital time and time-to-craniotomy. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality.
Of 12,105 trauma patients assessed, 149 patients met inclusion criteria. Overall, 40% (n = 60) patients died. On univariate analysis, there was a strong trend suggesting that patients arriving within the "Golden Hour after trauma" had decreased mortality (37% vs. 53%, P = 0.09). However, there was no difference in mortality for patients undergoing craniotomy within 4 hours and after 4 hours (42% vs. 36%, P = 0.4). On multivariate logistic regression, increased prehospital time was found to be associated with increased mortality (odds ratio 1.03 per minute, 95% CI 1.004-1.05, P = 0.024). Surprisingly, there was a trend showing that increased trauma room to craniotomy times were associated with lower mortality (odds ratio 0.995 per minute, 95% CI 0.99-1.0, P = 0.056). However, patients who quickly had their craniotomy seemed to have more severe neurological injury.
Rapid transport of patients with traumatic subdural hematomas hospital is associated with decreased mortality.
Damage Control Resuscitation Cap, Andrew P; Pidcoke, Heather F; Spinella, Philip ...
Military medicine,
09/2018, Volume:
183, Issue:
suppl_2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Damage control resuscitation (DCR) is a strategy for resuscitating patients from hemorrhagic shock to rapidly restore homeostasis. Efforts are focused on blood product transfusion with whole blood or ...component therapy closely approximating whole blood, limited use of crystalloid to avoid dilutional coagulopathy, hypotensive resuscitation until bleeding control is achieved, empiric use of tranexamic acid, prevention of acidosis and hypothermia, and rapid definitive surgical control of bleeding. Patients receiving uncrossmatched Type O blood in the emergency department and later receiving cumulative transfusions of 10 or more red blood cell units in the initial 24-hour post-injury (massive transfusion) are widely recognized as being at increased risk of morbidity and mortality due to exsanguination. Ideally, these patients should be rapidly identified, however anticipating transfusion needs is challenging. Useful indicators of massive transfusion reviewed in this guideline include: systolic blood pressure <110 mmHg, heart rate > 105 bpm, hematocrit <32%, pH < 7.25, injury pattern (above-the-knee traumatic amputation especially if pelvic injury is present, multi-amputation, clinically obvious penetrating injury to chest or abdomen), >2 regions positive on Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) scan, lactate concentration on admission >2.5, admission international normalized ratio ≥1.2-1.4, near infrared spectroscopy-derived StO2 < 75% (in practice, rarely available), BD > 6 meq/L. Unique aspects of out-of-hospital DCR (point of injury, en-route, and remote DCR) and in-hospital (Medical Treatment Facilities: Role 2b/Forward surgical teams - role 3/ combat support hospitals) are reviewed in this guideline, along with pediatric considerations.
Approximately 5% of blunt abdominal trauma patients experience blunt bowel and mesenteric injuries (BBMIs). The diagnosis may be elusive as computed tomography (CT) can occasionally miss these ...injuries. Recent advancements in CT technology, however, may improve detection rates. This study will assess the false-negative rate of BBMI using a 64-slice computed tomographic scanner in adults with blunt abdominal trauma.
All blunt abdominal trauma patients with laparotomy confirmed BBMI were retrospectively identified within a 5-year period at a Level I trauma center. Only patients who underwent preoperative abdominal CT were included. CT reports were examined specifically for findings suggestive of BBMI and compared with operative findings. A completely normal computed tomographic scan result as interpreted by a staff radiologist but operative findings of BBMI was considered a false negative.
One hundred ninety five cases of laparotomy-proven BBMI were identified from the trauma registry, of which 68 patients met study inclusion criteria. All study patients had free fluid present on CT. As a result, there were no false-negative computed tomographic scan results for BBMI. Four patients had isolated small amounts of free fluid without any additional suggestive CT findings of BBMI or solid-organ injury. Mesenteric or bowel hematomas and bowel wall thickening were present in 57% and 50% of cases, respectively.
The false-negative rates of BBMI may be reduced with a 64-slice computed tomographic scan. In this study, all patients had free fluid identified on CT. Consequently, even minimal free fluid remains relevant in patients with blunt abdominal injury.
Diagnostic test, level III.
Societal Costs of Inappropriate Emergency Department Thoracotomy Passos, Edward M., MD; Engels, Paul T., MD, FACS; Doyle, Jeffrey D., MD ...
Journal of the American College of Surgeons,
2012, 2012-Jan, 2012-01-00, 20120101, Volume:
214, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Background Emergency department (ED) thoracotomy can be lifesaving. It can also lead to resource waste and exposure to blood-borne infections. We investigated the frequency with which ED thoracotomy ...was performed for inappropriate indications and the resulting societal costs. Study Design This retrospective cohort study examined all trauma patients admitted directly from the scene of injury from 1992 to 2009 who underwent ED thoracotomy. The main outcomes included inappropriate ED thoracotomy. Secondary outcomes included resource use and societal costs for performing ED thoracotomy for improper indications. Specifically, we analyzed for operating room use, blood transfusions, ICU and hospital stay, needlestick injuries, survivor rate, and neurological outcomes in this group. Results One hundred and twenty-three patients underwent ED thoracotomy during the study period. Of those, 63 (51%) were considered inappropriate. In this group, we observed no survivors, none became organ donors, 3 cases of needlestick injuries to health care providers occurred, and 335 U of blood products were used in their care. Also, 4 patients of 63 survived to the operating room and required a total of 6 separate operating room visits. Three of these patients had an ICU stay of 1 day and 1 died on day 5. Conclusions ED thoracotomy should be reserved for potentially salvageable patients, but discouraged for other indications. From the societal point of view, inappropriate use of the procedure resulted in substantial costs and waste of resources, exposure of health care providers to possible blood-borne infections, and offered no survival benefit.
Background Tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) is a system of prehospital trauma care designed for the combat environment. Although widely adopted, very few studies have reported on how TCCC ...interventions are actually delivered on the battlefield, from a quality of care perspective. Study Design This was a prospective study of all trauma patients treated at the Role 3 multinational medical unit (MMU) at Kandahar Airfield Base from February 7, 2006 to May 30, 2006. Primary outcomes were whether or not two TCCC interventions were underused, overused, or misused. Interventions studied were needle decompression of tension pneumothoraces and tourniquet application for exsanguinating extremity injuries. Results One hundred thirty-four trauma patients were treated at the Role 3 MMU during the study period. Six patients had eight tourniquets applied. Five tourniquets were applied to four patients appropriately and saved their lives. There was one case of misuse where a venous tourniquet was applied. There was one case of overuse where one patient had two tourniquets placed for 4 hours on extremities with no vascular injury. There were seven cases where needle decompression was underused: seven patients presented with vital signs absent with no needle decompression. There was one case of overuse of needle decompression. There were seven cases of misuse where the patients were decompressed too medially. Conclusions Tourniquets save lives. Needle decompression can save lives, but is usually performed in patients with multiple critical injuries. TCCC instructors must reinforce proper techniques and indications for each procedure to ensure that the quality of care provided to injured soldiers on the battlefield remains high.
No new therapies for traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been officially translated into current practice. At the tissue and cellular level, both inflammatory and oxidative processes may be exacerbated ...post-injury and contribute to further brain damage.
acetylcysteine (NAC) has the potential to downregulate both processes. This review focuses on the potential neuroprotective utility of NAC and
-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) post-TBI.
Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched up to July 2017. Studies that examined clinical and laboratory effects of NAC and NACA post-TBI in human and animal studies were included. Risk of bias was assessed in human and animal studies according to the design of each study (randomized or not). The primary outcome assessed was the effect of NAC/NACA treatment on functional outcome, while secondary outcomes included the impact on biomarkers of inflammation and oxidation. Due to the clinical and methodological heterogeneity observed across studies, no meta-analyses were conducted.
Our analyses revealed only three human trials, including two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 20 animal studies conducted using standardized animal models of brain injury. The two RCTs reported improvement in the functional outcome post-NAC/NACA administration. Overall, the evidence from animal studies is more robust and demonstrated substantial improvement of cognition and psychomotor performance following NAC/NACA use. Animal studies also reported significantly more cortical sparing, reduced apoptosis, and lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. No safety concerns were reported in any of the studies included in this analysis.
Evidence from the animal literature demonstrates a robust association for the prophylactic application of NAC and NACA post-TBI with improved neurofunctional outcomes and downregulation of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers at the tissue level. While a growing body of scientific literature suggests putative beneficial effects of NAC/NACA treatment for TBI, the lack of well-designed and controlled clinical investigations, evaluating therapeutic outcomes, prognostic biomarkers, and safety profiles, limits definitive interpretation and recommendations for its application in humans at this time.
Background This study evaluated how implementation of an acute care emergency surgery service (ACCESS) affected key determinants of emergency department (ED) length of stay, and particularly, ...surgical decision time. Also, we analyzed how ACCESS affected ED overcrowding. Study Design We conducted a before and after study of all ED patients referred to ACCESS from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009. ACCESS was implemented on July 1, 2008. The primary outcome was surgical decision time; the secondary outcome was a measure of overall ED overcrowding: “time-to-stretcher” for all ED patients. The control groups were patients referred to internal medicine or urology. Patients with appendicitis were studied in order to analyze the impact on patient outcomes and to determine barriers to efficient ED patient flow. Results Of 2,510 patients, 1,448 patients were pre-ACCESS, and 1,062 were after ACCESS implementation. Implementation of ACCESS was associated with a 15% reduction in surgical decision time (12.6 hours vs 10.8 hours, p < 0.01). During the same period, there were no significant changes in decision time for our control groups. Also, the mean time-to-stretcher for all ED patients decreased by 20%. In patients with appendicitis, we found that patient flow could be further improved by a timely request for surgical consultation and expedited imaging. Finally, we found that patients with nonperforated appendicitis with a fecalith on CT imaging were more likely to suffer perforation while waiting for surgery. Conclusions ACCESS reduced surgical decision time for surgical patients. Also, ACCESS improved overall ED crowding, as measured by time-to-stretcher for ED patients. Further improvements could be made by improving time to imaging. Patients referred for nonperforated appendicitis with a fecalith on CT should have expedited surgery.
We searched MEDLINE and PubMed using the following medical subject headings and text words: "motor vehicle crash," "traffic accident," "road trauma," "roadway collision," "transportation incident" ...and "driver safety." We restricted our review to literature published in English within the last 30 years. We validated our approach by checking the Cochrane Library headings "Orthopaedics and trauma, Prevention of road traffic injuries" and "Public health, Prevention of road traffic injuries." Further articles were identified by checking references, in addition to using the PubMed function "Search all related." We included trials that involved randomization or rigorous observational analytical methods. In addition, we included selected governmental background documents from the World Health Organization, Transport Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Preventing Deaths in the Canadian Military Tien, Homer C.N., MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS; Acharya, Sanjay, MD, FRCPC; Redelmeier, Donald A., MD, MS, FRCPC
American journal of preventive medicine,
03/2010, Volume:
38, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Background Combat fatalities are reported by the media as a frequent cause of military deaths, yet they may not reflect the most common and preventable ways that soldiers die. Purpose The purpose of ...this study was to quantify the leading causes of death in the military and to identify modifiable behaviors that potentially contributed to death. Methods This was a retrospective chart review of all Canadian Forces members who died during the past quarter century (January 1, 1983, to December 31, 2007) and included autopsy reports, death certificates, coroner reports, hospital records, military reports, and other miscellaneous sources. Underlying cause of death and modifiable behaviors potentially contributing to death were determined. Results A total of 1889 individuals died during the study period, and a cause of death was identified for 1710 cases (91%). Traumatic injuries caused 57% of deaths, and medical disease was responsible for 43%. The four leading specific causes of death were motor-vehicle crashes (384 deaths, 22%); neoplasms (374 deaths, 22%); suicide (289 deaths, 17%); and cardiovascular disease (285 deaths, 17%). Combat deaths accounted for less than 5% of all deaths (70 deaths). Approximately 35% of all deaths were attributable to potentially modifiable behaviors, which included suicide (219 non–alcohol-related deaths, 13%); smoking (159 deaths, 9%); and alcohol use (186 deaths, 11%). Conclusions Public attention focuses on combat fatalities, yet most military members die from other causes. Avoiding future deaths requires targeting suicide, smoking, and alcohol consumption, in addition to trauma care for combat injuries.
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