Major trauma | |
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Health care providers attending to a person on a stretcher with a gunshot wound to the head; the patient is intubated, and a mechanical ventilator is visible in the background | |
Specialty | Emergency medicine, trauma surgery |
Major trauma is any injury that has the potential to cause prolonged disability or death. [1] There are many causes of major trauma, blunt and penetrating, including falls, motor vehicle collisions, stabbing wounds, and gunshot wounds. Depending on the severity of injury, quickness of management, and transportation to an appropriate medical facility (called a trauma center) may be necessary to prevent loss of life or limb. The initial assessment is critical, and involves a physical evaluation and also may include the use of imaging tools to determine the types of injuries accurately and to formulate a course of treatment.[ citation needed ]
In 2002, unintentional and intentional injuries were the fifth and seventh leading causes of deaths worldwide, accounting for 6.23% and 2.84% of all deaths. For research purposes the definition often is based on an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of greater than 15. [2]
Injuries generally are classified by either severity, the location of damage, or a combination of both. [3] Trauma also may be classified by demographic group, such as age or gender. [4] It also may be classified by the type of force applied to the body, such as blunt trauma or penetrating trauma. For research purposes injury may be classified using the Barell matrix, which is based on ICD-9-CM. The purpose of the matrix is for international standardization of the classification of trauma. [5] Major trauma sometimes is classified by body area; injuries affecting 40% are polytrauma, 30% head injuries, 20% chest trauma, 10%, abdominal trauma, and 2%, extremity trauma. [4] [6]
Various scales exist to provide a quantifiable metric to measure the severity of injuries. The value may be used for triaging a patient or for statistical analysis. Injury scales measure damage to anatomical parts, physiological values (blood pressure etc.), comorbidities, or a combination of those. The Abbreviated Injury Scale and the Glasgow Coma Scale are used commonly to quantify injuries for the purpose of triaging and allow a system to monitor or "trend" a patient's condition in a clinical setting. [7] The data also may be used in epidemiological investigations and for research purposes. [8]
Approximately 2% of those who have experienced significant trauma have a spinal cord injury. [9]
Injuries may be caused by any combination of external forces that act physically against the body. [10] The leading causes of traumatic death are blunt trauma, motor vehicle collisions, and falls, followed by penetrating trauma such as stab wounds or impaled objects. [11] Subsets of blunt trauma are both the number one and two causes of traumatic death. [12]
For statistical purposes, injuries are classified as either intentional such as suicide, or unintentional, such as a motor vehicle collision. Intentional injury is a common cause of traumas. [13] Penetrating trauma is caused when a foreign body such as a bullet or a knife enters the body tissue, creating an open wound. In the United States, most deaths caused by penetrating trauma occur in urban areas and 80% of these deaths are caused by firearms. [14] Blast injury is a complex cause of trauma because it commonly includes both blunt and penetrating trauma, and also may be accompanied by a burn injury. Trauma also may be associated with a particular activity, such as an occupational or sports injury. [15]
The body responds to traumatic injury both systemically and at the injury site. [16] This response attempts to protect vital organs such as the liver, to allow further cell duplication and to heal the damage. [17] The healing time of an injury depends on various factors including sex, age, and the severity of injury. [18]
The symptoms of injury may manifest in many different ways, including: [19]
Various organ systems respond to injury to restore homeostasis by maintaining perfusion to the heart and brain. [20] Inflammation after injury occurs to protect against further damage and starts the healing process. Prolonged inflammation may cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome or systemic inflammatory response syndrome. [21] Immediately after injury, the body increases production of glucose through gluconeogenesis and its consumption of fat via lipolysis. Next, the body tries to replenish its energy stores of glucose and protein via anabolism. In this state the body will temporarily increase its maximum expenditure for the purpose of healing injured cells. [18] [22]
The initial assessment is critical in determining the extent of injuries and what will be needed to manage an injury, and for treating immediate life threats.
Primary physical examination is undertaken to identify any life-threatening problems, after which the secondary examination is carried out. This may occur during transportation or upon arrival at the hospital. The secondary examination consists of a systematic assessment of the abdominal, pelvic, and thoracic areas, a complete inspection of the body surface to find all injuries, and a neurological examination. Injuries that may manifest themselves later may be missed during the initial assessment, such as when a patient is brought into a hospital's emergency department. [23] Generally, the physical examination is performed in a systematic way that first checks for any immediate life threats (primary survey), and then taking a more in-depth examination (secondary survey). [24]
Persons with major trauma commonly have chest and pelvic x-rays taken, [6] and, depending on the mechanism of injury and presentation, a focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) exam to check for internal bleeding. For those with relatively stable blood pressure, heart rate, and sufficient oxygenation, CT scans are useful. [6] [25] Full-body CT scans, known as pan-scans, improve the survival rate of those who have suffered major trauma. [26] [27] These scans use intravenous injections for the radiocontrast agent, but not oral administration. [28] There are concerns that intravenous contrast administration in trauma situations without confirming adequate renal function may cause damage to kidneys, but this does not appear to be significant. [25]
In the U.S., CT or MRI scans are performed on 15% of those with trauma in emergency departments. [29] Where blood pressure is low or the heart rate is increased—likely from bleeding in the abdomen—immediate surgery bypassing a CT scan is recommended. [30] Modern 64-slice CT scans are able to rule out, with a high degree of accuracy, significant injuries to the neck following blunt trauma. [31]
Surgical techniques, using a tube or catheter to drain fluid from the peritoneum, chest, or the pericardium around the heart, often are used in cases of severe blunt trauma to the chest or abdomen, especially when a person is experiencing early signs of shock. In those with low blood-pressure, likely because of bleeding in the abdominal cavity, cutting through the abdominal wall surgically is indicated. [6]
By identifying risk factors present within a community and creating solutions to decrease the incidence of injury, trauma referral systems may help to enhance the overall health of a population. [32] Injury prevention strategies are commonly used to prevent injuries in children, who are a high risk population. [33] Injury prevention strategies generally involve educating the general public about specific risk factors and developing strategies to avoid or reduce injuries. [34] Legislation intended to prevent injury typically involves seatbelts, child car-seats, helmets, alcohol control, and increased enforcement of the legislation.[ citation needed ] Other controllable factors, such as the use of drugs including alcohol or cocaine, increases the risk of trauma by increasing the likelihood of traffic collisions, violence, and abuse occurring. [6] Prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines may increase the risk of trauma in elderly people. [6]
The care of acutely injured people in a public health system requires the involvement of bystanders, community members, health care professionals, and health care systems. It encompasses pre-hospital trauma assessment and care by emergency medical services personnel, emergency department assessment, treatment, stabilization, and in-hospital care among all age groups. [35] An established trauma system network is also an important component of community disaster preparedness, facilitating the care of people who have been involved in disasters that cause large numbers of casualties, such as earthquakes. [32]
The pre-hospital use of stabilization techniques improves the chances of a person surviving the journey to the nearest trauma-equipped hospital. Emergency medicine services determines which people need treatment at a trauma center as well as provide primary stabilization by checking and treating airway, breathing, and circulation as well as assessing for disability and gaining exposure to check for other injuries. [23]
Spinal motion restriction by securing the neck with a cervical collar and placing the person on a long spine board was of high importance in the pre-hospital setting, but due to lack of evidence to support its use, the practice is losing favor. Instead, it is recommended that more exclusive criteria be met such as age and neurological deficits to indicate the need of these adjuncts. [36] [37] This may be accomplished with other medical transport devices, such as a Kendrick extrication device, before moving the person. [38] It is important to quickly control severe bleeding with direct pressure to the wound and consider the use of hemostatic agents or tourniquets if the bleeding continues. [39] Conditions such as impending airway obstruction, enlargening neck hematoma, or unconsciousness require intubation. It is unclear, however, if this is best performed before reaching hospital or in the hospital. [40]
Rapid transportation of severely injured patients improves the outcome in trauma. [6] [23] Helicopter EMS transport reduces mortality compared to ground-based transport in adult trauma patients. [41] Before arrival at the hospital, the availability of advanced life support does not greatly improve the outcome for major trauma when compared to the administration of basic life support. [42] [43] Evidence is inconclusive in determining support for pre-hospital intravenous fluid resuscitation while some evidence has found it may be harmful. [44] Hospitals with designated trauma centers have improved outcomes when compared to hospitals without them, [6] and outcomes may improve when persons who have experienced trauma are transferred directly to a trauma center. [45]
Improvements in pre-hospital care have led to "unexpected survivors", where patients survive trauma when they would have previously been expected to die. [46] However these patients may struggle to rehabilitate. [47]
Management of those with trauma often requires the help of many healthcare specialists including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and social workers. Cooperation allows many actions to be completed at once. Generally, the first step of managing trauma is to perform a primary survey that evaluates a person's airway, breathing, circulation, and neurologic status. [48] These steps may happen simultaneously or depend on the most pressing concern such as a tension pneumothorax or major arterial bleed. The primary survey generally includes assessment of the cervical spine, though clearing it is often not possible until after imaging, or the person has improved. After immediate life threats are controlled, a person is either moved into an operating room for immediate surgical correction of the injuries, or a secondary survey is performed that is a more detailed head-to-toe assessment of the person. [49]
Indications for intubation include airway obstruction, inability to protect the airway, and respiratory failure. [50] Examples of these indications include penetrating neck trauma, expanding neck hematoma, and being unconscious. In general, the method of intubation used is rapid sequence intubation followed by ventilation, though intubating in shock due to bleeding can lead to arrest, and should be done after some resuscitation whenever possible. Trauma resuscitation includes control of active bleeding. When a person is first brought in, vital signs are checked, an ECG is performed, and, if needed, vascular access is obtained. Other tests should be performed to get a baseline measurement of their current blood chemistry, such as an arterial blood gas or thromboelastography. [51] In those with cardiac arrest due to trauma chest compressions are considered futile, but still recommended. [52] Correcting the underlying cause such as a pneumothorax or pericardial tamponade, if present, may help. [52]
A FAST exam may help assess for internal bleeding. In certain traumas, such as maxillofacial trauma, it may be beneficial to have a highly trained health care provider available to maintain airway, breathing, and circulation. [53]
Traditionally, high-volume intravenous fluids were given to people who had poor perfusion due to trauma. [54] This is still appropriate in cases with isolated extremity trauma, thermal trauma, or head injuries. [55] In general, however, giving lots of fluids appears to increase the risk of death. [56] Current evidence supports limiting the use of fluids for penetrating thorax and abdominal injuries, allowing mild hypotension to persist. [4] [55] Targets include a mean arterial pressure of 60 mmHg, a systolic blood pressure of 70–90 mmHg, [54] [57] or the re-establishment of peripheral pulses and adequate ability to think. [54] Hypertonic saline has been studied and found to be of little difference from normal saline. [58]
As no intravenous fluids used for initial resuscitation have been shown to be superior, warmed Lactated Ringer's solution continues to be the solution of choice. [54] If blood products are needed, a greater use of fresh frozen plasma and platelets instead of only packed red blood cells has been found to improve survival and lower overall blood product use; [59] a ratio of 1:1:1 is recommended. [57] The success of platelets has been attributed to the fact that they may prevent coagulopathy from developing. [60] Cell salvage and autotransfusion also may be used. [54]
Blood substitutes such as hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers are in development; however, as of 2013 there are none available for commercial use in North America or Europe. [54] [61] [62] These products are only available for general use in South Africa and Russia. [61]
Tranexamic acid decreases death in people who are having ongoing bleeding due to trauma, as well as those with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury and evidence of intracranial bleeding on CT scan. [63] [64] [65] It only appears to be beneficial, however, if administered within the first three hours after trauma. [66] For severe bleeding, for example from bleeding disorders, recombinant factor VIIa —a protein that assists blood clotting—may be appropriate. [6] [55] While it decreases blood use, it does not appear to decrease the mortality rate. [67] In those without previous factor VII deficiency, its use is not recommended outside of trial situations. [68]
Other medications may be used in conjunction with other procedures to stabilize a person who has sustained a significant injury. [4] While positive inotropic medications such as norepinephrine sometimes are used in hemorrhagic shock as a result of trauma, there is a lack of evidence for their use. [69] Therefore, as of 2012 they have not been recommended. [58] Allowing a low blood pressure may be preferred in some situations. [70]
The decision whether to perform surgery is determined by the extent of the damage and the anatomical location of the injury. Bleeding must be controlled before definitive repair may occur. [71] Damage control surgery is used to manage severe trauma in which there is a cycle of metabolic acidosis, hypothermia, and hypotension that may lead to death, if not corrected. [6] The main principle of the procedure involves performing the fewest procedures to save life and limb; less critical procedures are left until the victim is more stable. [6] Approximately 15% of all people with trauma have abdominal injuries, and approximately 25% of these require exploratory surgery. The majority of preventable deaths from trauma result from unrecognised intra-abdominal bleeding. [72]
Trauma deaths occur in immediate, early, or late stages. Immediate deaths usually are due to apnea, severe brain or high spinal cord injury, or rupture of the heart or of large blood vessels. Early deaths occur within minutes to hours and often are due to hemorrhages in the outer meningeal layer of the brain, torn arteries, blood around the lungs, air around the lungs, ruptured spleen, liver laceration, or pelvic fracture. Immediate access to care may be crucial to prevent death in persons experiencing major trauma. Late deaths occur days or weeks after the injury [23] and often are related to infection. [73] Prognosis is better in countries with a dedicated trauma system where injured persons are provided quick and effective access to proper treatment facilities. [6]
Long-term prognosis frequently is complicated by pain; more than half of trauma patients have moderate to severe pain one year after injury. [74] Many also experience a reduced quality of life years after an injury, [75] with 20% of victims sustaining some form of disability. [76] Physical trauma may lead to development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [77] One study has found no correlation between the severity of trauma and the development of PTSD. [78]
no data < 25 25–50 50–75 75–100 100–125 125–150 | 150–175 175–200 200–225 225–250 250–275 > 275 |
Trauma is the sixth leading cause of death worldwide, resulting in five million or 10% of all deaths annually. [80] [81] It is the fifth leading cause of significant disability. [80] About half of trauma deaths are in people aged between 15 and 45 years and trauma is the leading cause of death in this age group. [81] Injury affects more males; 68% of injuries occur in males [82] and death from trauma is twice as common in males as it is in females, this is believed to be because males are much more willing to engage in risk-taking activities. [81] Teenagers and young adults are more likely to need hospitalization from injuries than other age groups. [83] While elderly persons are less likely to be injured, they are more likely to die from injuries sustained due to various physiological differences that make it more difficult for the body to compensate for the injuries. [83] The primary causes of traumatic death are central nervous system injuries and substantial blood loss. [80] Various classification scales exist for use with trauma to determine the severity of injuries, which are used to determine the resources used and, for statistical collection.
The human remains discovered at the site of Nataruk in Turkana, Kenya, are claimed to show major trauma—both blunt and penetrating—caused by violent trauma to the head, neck, ribs, knees, and hands, which has been interpreted by some researchers as establishing the existence of warfare between two groups of hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago. [84] The evidence for blunt-force trauma at Nataruk has been challenged, however, and the interpretation that the site represents an early example of warfare has been questioned. [85]
The financial cost of trauma includes both the amount of money spent on treatment and the loss of potential economic gain through absence from work. The average financial cost for the treatment of traumatic injury in the United States is approximately US$334,000 per person, making it costlier than the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. [86] One reason for the high cost of the treatment for trauma is the increased possibility of complications, which leads to the need for more interventions. [87] Maintaining a trauma center is costly because they are open continuously and maintain a state of readiness to receive patients, even if there are none. [88] In addition to the direct costs of the treatment, there also is a burden on the economy due to lost wages and productivity, which in 2009, accounted for approximately US$693.5 billion in the United States. [89]
Citizens of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often have higher mortality rates from injury. These countries accounted for 89% of all deaths from injury worldwide. [82] Many of these countries do not have access to sufficient surgical care and many do not have a trauma system in place. In addition, most LMICs do not have a pre-hospital care system that treats injured persons initially and transports them to hospital quickly, resulting in most casualty patients being transported by private vehicles. Also, their hospitals lack the appropriate equipment, organizational resources, or trained staff. [90] [91] By 2020, the amount of trauma-related deaths is expected to decline in high-income countries, while in low- to middle-income countries it is expected to increase.[ citation needed ]
Cause | Deaths per year |
---|---|
Traffic collision | 260,000 |
Drowning | 175,000 |
Burns | 96,000 |
Falls | 47,000 |
Toxins | 45,000 |
Due to anatomical and physiological differences, injuries in children need to be approached differently from those in adults. [92] Accidents are the leading cause of death in children between 1 and 14 years old. [76] In the United States, approximately sixteen million children go to an emergency department due to some form of injury every year, [76] with boys being more frequently injured than girls by a ratio of 2:1. [76] The world's five most common unintentional injuries in children as of 2008 are road crashes, drowning, burns, falls, and poisoning. [93]
Weight estimation is an important part of managing trauma in children because the accurate dosing of medicine may be critical for resuscitative efforts. [94] A number of methods to estimate weight, including the Broselow tape, Leffler formula, and Theron formula exist. [95]
Trauma occurs in approximately 5% of all pregnancies, [96] and is the leading cause of maternal death. Additionally, pregnant women may experience placental abruption, pre-term labor, and uterine rupture. [96] There are diagnostic issues during pregnancy; ionizing radiation has been shown to cause birth defects, [4] although the doses used for typical exams generally are considered safe. [96] Due to normal physiological changes that occur during pregnancy, shock may be more difficult to diagnose. [4] [97] Where the woman is more than 23 weeks pregnant, it is recommended that the fetus be monitored for at least four hours by cardiotocography. [96]
A number of treatments beyond typical trauma care may be needed when the patient is pregnant. Because the weight of the uterus on the inferior vena cava may decrease blood return to the heart, it may be very beneficial to lay a woman in late pregnancy on her left side. [96] also recommended are Rho(D) immune globulin in those who are rh negative, corticosteroids in those who are 24 to 34 weeks and may need delivery or a caesarean section in the event of cardiac arrest. [96]
Most research on trauma occurs during war and military conflicts as militaries will increase trauma research spending in order to prevent combat related deaths. [98] Some research is being conducted on patients who were admitted into an intensive care unit or trauma center, and received a trauma diagnosis that caused a negative change in their health-related quality of life, with a potential to create anxiety and symptoms of depression. [99] New preserved blood products also are being researched for use in pre-hospital care; it is impractical to use the currently available blood products in a timely fashion in remote, rural settings or in theaters of war. [100]
Shock is the state of insufficient blood flow to the tissues of the body as a result of problems with the circulatory system. Initial symptoms of shock may include weakness, fast heart rate, fast breathing, sweating, anxiety, and increased thirst. This may be followed by confusion, unconsciousness, or cardiac arrest, as complications worsen.
Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vagina or anus, or through a puncture in the skin. Hypovolemia is a massive decrease in blood volume, and death by excessive loss of blood is referred to as exsanguination. Typically, a healthy person can endure a loss of 10–15% of the total blood volume without serious medical difficulties. The stopping or controlling of bleeding is called hemostasis and is an important part of both first aid and surgery.
Compartment syndrome is a condition in which increased pressure within one of the body's anatomical compartments results in insufficient blood supply to tissue within that space. There are two main types: acute and chronic. Compartments of the leg or arm are most commonly involved.
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat. With the advent of advanced procedures and medical technology, even polytrauma can be survivable in modern wars. Battlefield medicine is a category of military medicine.
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. Injuries to humans can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or overexertion. Injuries can occur in any part of the body, and different symptoms are associated with different injuries.
Hemicorporectomy is a radical surgery in which the body below the waist is amputated, transecting the lumbar spine. This removes the legs, the genitalia, urinary system, pelvic bones, anus, and rectum. It is a major procedure recommended only as a last resort for people with severe and potentially fatal illnesses such as osteomyelitis, tumors, severe traumas and intractable decubiti in, or around, the pelvis. By 2009, 66 cases had been reported in medical literature.
Internal bleeding is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on bleeding rate and location of the bleeding. Severe internal bleeding into the chest, abdomen, pelvis, or thighs can cause hemorrhagic shock or death if proper medical treatment is not received quickly. Internal bleeding is a medical emergency and should be treated immediately by medical professionals.
Airway management includes a set of maneuvers and medical procedures performed to prevent and relieve airway obstruction. This ensures an open pathway for gas exchange between a patient's lungs and the atmosphere. This is accomplished by either clearing a previously obstructed airway; or by preventing airway obstruction in cases such as anaphylaxis, the obtunded patient, or medical sedation. Airway obstruction can be caused by the tongue, foreign objects, the tissues of the airway itself, and bodily fluids such as blood and gastric contents (aspiration).
Hypovolemic shock is a form of shock caused by severe hypovolemia. It can be caused by severe dehydration or blood loss. Hypovolemic shock is a medical emergency; if left untreated, the insufficient blood flow can cause damage to organs, leading to multiple organ failure.
Traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) is a condition in which the heart has ceased to beat due to blunt or penetrating trauma, such as a stab wound to the thoracic area. It is a medical emergency which will always result in death without prompt advanced medical care. Even with prompt medical intervention, survival without neurological complications is rare. In recent years, protocols have been proposed to improve survival rate in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest, though the variable causes of this condition as well as many coexisting injuries can make these protocols difficult to standardize. Traumatic cardiac arrest is a complex form of cardiac arrest often derailing from advanced cardiac life support in the sense that the emergency team must first establish the cause of the traumatic arrest and reverse these effects, for example hypovolemia and haemorrhagic shock due to a penetrating injury.
Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, describes a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the body's surface. Blunt trauma stands in contrast with penetrating trauma, which occurs when an object pierces the skin, enters body tissue, and creates an open wound. Blunt trauma occurs due to direct physical trauma or impactful force to a body part. Such incidents often occur with road traffic collisions, assaults, and sports-related injuries, and are notably common among the elderly who experience falls.
A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile shot from a gun. Damage may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, and loss of the ability to move part of the body. Damage depends on the part of the body hit, the path the bullet follows through the body, and the type and speed of the bullet. In severe cases, although not uncommon, the injury is fatal. Long-term complications can include bowel obstruction, failure to thrive, neurogenic bladder and paralysis, recurrent cardiorespiratory distress and pneumothorax, hypoxic brain injury leading to early dementia, amputations, chronic pain and pain with light touch (hyperalgesia), deep venous thrombosis with pulmonary embolus, limb swelling and debility, and lead poisoning.
Traumatic aortic rupture, also called traumatic aortic disruption or transection, is a condition in which the aorta, the largest artery in the body, is torn or ruptured as a result of trauma to the body. The condition is frequently fatal due to the profuse bleeding that results from the rupture. Since the aorta branches directly from the heart to supply blood to the rest of the body, the pressure within it is very great, and blood may be pumped out of a tear in the blood vessel very rapidly. This can quickly result in shock and death. Thus traumatic aortic rupture is a common killer in automotive accidents and other traumas, with up to 18% of deaths that occur in automobile collisions being related to the injury. In fact, aortic disruption due to blunt chest trauma is the second leading cause of injury death behind traumatic brain injury.
Penetrating trauma is an open wound injury that occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating a deep but relatively narrow entry wound. In contrast, a blunt or non-penetrating trauma may have some deep damage, but the overlying skin is not necessarily broken and the wound is still closed to the outside environment. The penetrating object may remain in the tissues, come back out the path it entered, or pass through the full thickness of the tissues and exit from another area.
Targeted temperature management (TTM) previously known as therapeutic hypothermia or protective hypothermia is an active treatment that tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature in a person for a specific duration of time in an effort to improve health outcomes during recovery after a period of stopped blood flow to the brain. This is done in an attempt to reduce the risk of tissue injury following lack of blood flow. Periods of poor blood flow may be due to cardiac arrest or the blockage of an artery by a clot as in the case of a stroke.
An exploratory laparotomy is a general surgical operation where the abdomen is opened and the abdominal organs are examined for injury or disease. It is the standard of care in various blunt and penetrating trauma situations in which there may be life-threatening internal injuries. It is also used in certain diagnostic situations, in which the operation is undertaken in search of a unifying cause for multiple signs and symptoms of disease, and in the staging of some cancers.
Permissive hypotension or hypotensive resuscitation is the use of restrictive fluid therapy, specifically in the trauma patient, that increases systemic blood pressure without reaching normotension. The goal blood pressure for these patients is a mean arterial pressure of 40-50 mmHg or systolic blood pressure of less than or equal to 80. This goes along with certain clinical criteria. Following traumatic injury, some patients experience hypotension that is usually due to blood loss (hemorrhage) but can be due to other causes as well. In the past, physicians were very aggressive with fluid resuscitation to try to bring the blood pressure to normal values. Recent studies have found that there is some benefit to allowing specific patients to experience some degree of hypotension in certain settings. This concept does not exclude therapy by means of i.v. fluid, inotropes or vasopressors, the only restriction is to avoid completely normalizing blood pressure in a context where blood loss may be enhanced. When a person starts to bleed the body starts a natural coagulation process that eventually stops the bleed. Issues with fluid resuscitation without control of bleeding are thought to be secondary to dislodgement of the thrombus that is helping to control further bleeding. Thrombus dislodgement was found to occur at a systolic pressure greater than 80mm Hg. In addition, fluid resuscitation will dilute coagulation factors that help form and stabilize a clot, hence making it harder for the body to use its natural mechanisms to stop the bleeding. These factors are aggravated by hypothermia.
Damage control surgery is surgical intervention to keep the patient alive rather than correct the anatomy. It addresses the "lethal triad" for critically ill patients with severe hemorrhage affecting homeostasis leading to metabolic acidosis, hypothermia, and increased coagulopathy.
Endovascular and hybrid trauma and bleeding management is a new and rapidly evolving concept within medical healthcare and endovascular resuscitation. It involves early multidisciplinary evaluation and management of hemodynamically unstable patients with traumatic injuries as well as being a bridge to definitive treatment. It has recently been shown that the EVTM concept may also be applied to non-traumatic hemodynamically unstable patients.
Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a minimally invasive procedure performed during resuscitation of critically injured trauma patients. Originally developed as a less invasive alternative to emergency thoracotomy with aortic cross clamping, REBOA is performed to gain rapid control of non-compressible truncal or junctional hemorrhage. REBOA is performed first by achieving access to the common femoral artery (CFA) and advancing a catheter within the aorta. Upon successful catheter placement, an occluding balloon may be inflated either within the descending thoracic aorta or infrarenal abdominal aorta. REBOA stanches downstream hemorrhage and improves cardiac index, cerebral perfusion, and coronary perfusion. Although REBOA does not eliminate the need for definitive hemorrhage control, it may serve as a temporizing measure during initial resuscitation. Despite the benefits of REBOA, there are significant local and systemic ischemic risks. Establishing standardized REBOA procedural indications and mitigating the risk of ischemic injury are topics of ongoing investigation. Although this technique has been successfully deployed in adult patients, it has not yet been studied in children.
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