Background: Trauma represents a global public health concern with an estimated 5 million deaths annually. Moreover, the incidence of blunt traumatic injuries (BTI) particularly road traffic accidents (RTAs) and workplace-related injuries are rising throughout the world-wide. Objectives: We aimed to review the epidemiology and prevention of BTI, in the Arab Middle East. Materials and Methods: A traditional narrative literature review was carried out using PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE search engines. We used the keywords "traumatic injuries," "blunt" "epidemiology," "Arab Middle East" between December 1972 and March 2013. Results: The most common mechanisms of BTI in our region are RTAs, falls from height, struck by heavy objects and pedestrian motor vehicle trauma crashes. The rate of RTA and occupational injuries are markedly increased in the region due to rapid industrial development, extreme climatic conditions and unfamiliar working environment. However, lack of reliable information on these unintentional injuries is mainly responsible for the underestimation of this trauma burden. This knowledge deficit shields the extent of the problem from policy makers, leading to continued fatalities. These preventable injuries in turn add to the overall financial burden on the society through loss of productivity and greater need of medical and welfare services. Conclusion: In the Arab Middle East, population-based studies on the incidence, mechanism of injury, prevention and outcome of BTI are not well-documented. Therefore, region-specific BTI studies would strengthen surveillance to better understand the burden of these injuries in the region.

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Introduction: Excessive fluid administration in critically ill post-traumatic patients is common and is associated with poorer outcomes. Once resuscitation is complete; however, assisted diuresis with furosemide is not an option commonly exercised. We hypothesize that diuresis with furosemide in hemodynamically stable, critically ill trauma patients is safe and effective in promoting diuresis. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective chart review, all injured patients admitted to the trauma ICU between March 2007 and June 2009 were identified. Data collection included demographic data, traumatic mechanism, physiologic data, laboratory data, medications, complications, ventilator days, ICU and hospital length of stay. Statistical analyses using two-sample t tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, chi-square tests, paired t-tests, and one-sample signed rank tests were performed. Results: Of 162 screened patients, 85 were identified as eligible. Twenty-seven patients (31.8%) received furosemide within the first 14 ICU days, and there were no significant differences in age, ISS, gender, blunt mechanism, co-morbid conditions, overall complications, or mortality when compared to patients who did not receive diuresis. Furosemide administration resulted in a median of 45% increased 24 h urine output and a median of 82% less 24 h net fluid gain without any significant change in HR, MAP, CVP, Hct, creatinine, or potassium. Conclusions: Administration of furosemide in stable, significantly fluid positive critically ill trauma patients results in significantly increased urine output and significantly less net fluid gain with no detrimental effect on hemodynamic parameters or laboratory values.

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Background: A plethora of injuries present at any accident and emergency unit, but the pattern of the injuries varies from region to region especially in ours with the increased ethno-religious clashes and terrorist attacks. This study aims to determine the epidemiology and type of injuries presenting to our center with the possibility of developing injury surveillance initiatives in our center and Nigeria as a whole. Materials and Methods: Injured patients consecutively presenting to the accident and emergency department of the Jos University Teaching Hospital within the period February 2011 to January 2012 were prospectively recorded. Results: A total of 720 injured patients admitted with an age range of 8 months to 75 years (mean = 37.9; SD = ±52.4), which consists of 544 males and 176 females giving a male to female ratio of 3.1:1. Patients aged 20-29 years were in the majority (n = 220, 30.6%) with peak incidences in the period of communal clashes. Injuries sustained from motorcycles were the highest (n = 248, 34.4%). Others were 160 (22.2%) in other vehicular and pedestrian injuries, machete (n = 128), gunshots (n = 92), burns (n = 36), bomb blast injuries (n = 16), fall from heights (n = 32) and miscellaneous (n = 8). Injuries sustained in communal clashes and terrorist attacks accounted for 236 (32.8%) presentations. The most common site of injury was the head (n = 30 4, 42.2%). Relatives, passersby and law enforcement agencies brought patients to the hospital with times between injury and presentation ranging from 1 h to 3 weeks. 40 (5.6%) patients were brought in dead. Conclusion: A collective effort - on the part of the government and the citizenry is required to ensure better outcomes and a safer society for all.

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Background: Ultrasound is a readily available, non-invasive technique to visualize airway dimensions at the patient's bedside and possibly predict difficult airways before invasively looking; however, it has rarely been used for emergency investigation of the larynx. There is limited literature on the sonographic measurements of true vocal cords in adults and normal parameters must be established before abnormal parameters can be accurately identified. Objectives: The primary objective of the following study is to identify the normal sonographic values of human true vocal cords in an adult population. A secondary objective is to determine if there is a difference in true vocal cord measurements in people with different body mass indices (BMIs). The third objective was to determine if there was a statistical difference in the measurements for both genders. Materials and Methods: True vocal cord measurements were obtained in healthy volunteers by ultrasound fellowship trained emergency medicine physicians using a high frequency linear transducer orientated transversely across the anterior surface of the neck at the level of the thyroid cartilage. The width of the true vocal cord was measured perpendicularly to the length of the cord at its mid-portion. This method was duplicated from a previous study to create a standard of measurement acquisition. Results: A total of 38 subjects were enrolled. The study demonstrated no correlation between vocal cord measurements and patient's characteristics of height, weight, or BMI's. When accounting for vocal cord measurements by gender, males had larger BMI's and larger vocal cord measurements compared with females subjects with a statistically significant different in right vocal cord measurements for females compared with male subjects. Conclusion: No correlation was seen between vocal cord measurements and person's BMIs. In the study group of normal volunteers, there was a difference in size between the male and female vocal cord size.

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Intraperitoneal infection known as peritonitis is a major killer in the practice of clinical surgery. Tertiary peritonitis (TP) may be defined as intra-abdominal infection that persists or recurs ³48 h following successful and adequate surgical source control. A planned or on-demand relaparotomy after an initial operation is probably most frequent way to diagnose TP, but is a late event to occur. Hence it is desirable to have timely and nonoperative diagnosis of TP after the initial operation and subsequent initiation of an appropriate therapy to reduce the complications and to improve the outcome.

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Context: Cycle rickshaw is an important means of transportation in Urban India. Pedestrians, rickshaw users, rickshaw pullers, two wheeled vehicle users and cyclists are among the most vulnerable road user groups in terms of injuries and fatalities resulting from road traffic accidents in India. Our objectives were to study characteristics of crashes and nature of injuries associated with cycle rickshaw. Patients and Methods: Between August 2008 to July 2009, a hospital based observational study was done of patients who presented to King George medical college trauma center with injury sustained due to cycle rickshaw in emergency department. Age, time of trauma, mode of trauma, contributing factors and type of injury were recorded. Results: The mean age of the patient was 32.1. Seventeen patients were rickshaw pullers and the rest were occupants of the rickshaw. Overloading with more than two passengers was found in 24 cases (28.5%). Most common cause of injury was collision with a moving vehicle (56 patients, %) followed by fall from rickshaw. The most common contributing factor was the overloading of rickshaw. On arrival to the hospital, the mean Injury severity score (ISS) was 3.5 ± 2.2 and the mean Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was 13.4 ± 4.3. Nine patients were admitted to ICU (Intensive care unit). The median ICU stay was 4 (1-24 days). Six of the ICU admitted patients had head injury. Conclusion: Rickshaw pullers and occupants are vulnerable to road traffic accidents. Urgent preventive measures targeted towards this group are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from injuries involving rickshaws. The need for improved understanding of the risk characteristics of cycle rickshaw is emphasized.

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Background: The statistical profile reflects a global estimate of 5.1 million deaths in 2000, which was due to injuries that accounted for 10% of deaths due to all causes. Out of this, a quarter of injury-related deaths occurred in the South-East Asian region. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is one among the top 5 causes of morbidity and mortality in South-East Asian countries. Most common cause of blunt abdominal trauma in India is road traffic accident followed by pedestrian accidents, abdominal blows, and fall from heights. Aims: To analyze the epidemiology and pattern of fatal thoraco-abdominal injuries in road traffic accidents. Materials and Methods: An autopsy-based cross-sectional study conducted. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select the study sample of 100 post-mortems of road traffic accident between November 2008 and May 2010 subjected to medico-legal autopsy at the department of Forensic Medicine, KIMS Hospital Bangalore. Results: The majority of the victims were aged 21 to 40 years, 50 (50.0%), most of the victims were male 92 (92.0%); and male/female ratio was 11.5:1. Commonest offending agents in heavy motor vehicles were 54 (54.0%). Bony cage sustained injuries were observed in 71; out of this, fractures of ribs were observed in 45 (63.3%) victims, clavicle in 14 (19.7%), sternum was 6 (8.4%), and vertebrae 6 (8.4%) of fatal road traffic accidents. Internal thoracic injuries were observed in 26 cases. Among internal thoracic injuries, lungs were the most commonly involved organ 24 (92.3%) followed by the heart 2 (7.6%). Lung sustained more lacerations 19 (79.1%) than contusions 5 (20.8%). Internal abdominal injuries were observed in 49 cases. In road traffic accidents, the most commonly injured abdominal organs were solid organs such as liver 16 (32.6%) followed by spleen 9 (18.3%). Conclusions: Majority of the times in road traffic accidents, young and productive males were injured or lost their life. This study may help the planners to take safety measures, to implement strict traffic rules, to risk stratification in the susceptible population to educate the people, and the study of nature of offending agent in RTA can help the authorities to plan better availability of health care on roads.

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Context: Recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) has been used as an adjunctive therapy for acute post-traumatic hemorrhage and reversal of iatrogenic coagulopathy in trauma patients in the hospital setting. However, investigations regarding its potential use in pre-hospital management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have not been conducted extensively. Aims: In the present study, we investigated the physiology, hematology and histology effects of a single pre-hospital bolus injection of rFVIIa compared to current clinical practice of no pre-hospital intervention in a swine model of moderate fluid percussion TBI. Materials and Methods: Animals were randomized to receive either a bolus of rFVIIa (90 μg/kg) or nothing 15 minutes (T15) post-injury. Hospital arrival was simulated at T60, and animals were euthanized at experimental endpoint (T360). Results: Survival was 100% in both groups; baseline physiology parameters were similar, vital signs were comparable. Animals that received rFVIIa demonstrated less hemorrhage in subarachnoid space (P = 0.0037) and less neuronal degeneration in left hippocampus, pons, and cerebellum (P = 0.00009, P = 0.00008, and P = 0.251, respectively). Immunohistochemical staining of brain sections showed less overall loss of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and less Flouro-Jade B positive cells in rFVIIa-treated animals. Conclusions: Early pre-hospital administration of rFVIIa in this swine TBI model reduced neuronal necrosis and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). These results merit further investigation of this approach in pre-hospital trauma care.

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Neuroparalytic snake bite is a common emergency situation encountered in India. Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and cobra (Naja naja) are important snakes causing neuroparalysis in North India. Despite severe neuroparalysis, patients who receive antivenin and ventilator support in time recover completely. Autonomic disturbances resulting in resting tachycardia, labile hypertension and sweating have been described in common krait envenomation. We present a case of common krait (B. caeruleus) envenomation presenting in the locked-in state and severe hypertension that remained in such a state for over 96 h before a gradual and sustained recovery.

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Delayed morphologic and metabolic change of organophosphate intoxication is rarely reported than those of acute episode. The patient was a 52-year-old woman who had a history of acute organophosphate intoxication, which paralyzed her for one week when she was 25 years old. She recovered slowly to near normal after one year. After 22 years of the acute episode, tremor developed in 2007 followed by bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instabilities. Brain MRI showed linear atrophy in bilateral striatal area and multiple cysts in anterior caudate nucleus. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography revealed multiple hypometabolic areas in bilateral striatum, cerebellar hemisphere, and occipital area.

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Introduction: The two-shot technique is an effective stopping power method. The precise mechanisms of action on the bone and soft-tissue structures of the skull; however, remain largely unclear. The aim of this study is to compare the terminal ballistics of the two-shot and single-shot techniques. Materials and Methods: 40 fresh pigs' heads were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10). Either a single shot or two shots were fired at each head with a full metal jacket or a semi-jacketed bullet. Using thin-layer computed tomography and photography, the diameter of the destruction pattern and the fractures along the bullet path were then imaged and assessed. Results: A single shot fired with a full metal jacket bullet causes minor lateral destruction along the bullet path. With two shots fired with a full metal jacket bullet, however, the maximum diameter of the bullet path is significantly greater (P < 0.05) than it is with a single shot fired with a full metal jacket bullet. In contrast, the maximum diameter with a semi-jacketed bullet is similar with the single-shot and two-shot techniques. Conclusion: With the two-shot technique, a full metal jacket bullet causes a destruction pattern that is comparable to that of a single shot fired with a semi-jacketed bullet.

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Aortocaval fistula represents a rare, life-threatening complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm that needs emergency surgical treatment. The presentation couples that of a rupturing aneurysm with other more characteristic features resulting from the massive arteriovenous shunt. Early recognition and emergency surgical treatment are essential in reducing mortality and morbidity. Prompt investigation with multidetector computed tomography (CT) angiography quickly and accurately establishes a precise preoperative diagnosis, thereby enabling proper planning of operative treatment.

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