Ostra utrata krwi : co możemy zrobić w warunkach przedszpitalnych? Doświadczenia pola walki

Autorzy przedstawili praktyczne wnioski i zalecenia postępowania w przypadku wystąpienia krwotoków w warunkach pola walki. Ich stosowanie ma kluczowe znaczenie dla osiągnięcia sukcesu i przeżycia rannych w niesprzyjających warunkach środowiska taktycznego. Doświadczenia medycyny wojskowej i praktyczne rozwiązania w celu zapewnienia skutecznej hemostazy lub zachowania restrykcyjnej płynoterapii w przypadku krwotoków wewnętrznych mogą znaleźć zastosowanie również w cywilnej opiece przedszpitalnej.The authors presented the practical conclusions and therapeutic recommendations for the heavily bleeding patients, managed under combat conditions. Such therapy is vital for the wounded in the hostile tactical environment. The military medical solutions for assuring the effective hemostasis or applying the restrictive fluid therapy in internal bleeding cases may be useful also in civilian medicine

Application of ultrasound examination in tactical conditions illustrated with an example of the Field Hospital of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan

It is assumed that tactical medicine encompasses all therapeutic activities performed by a military medical service during military and humanitarian missions. Its scope is only apparently limited by the standards which, when referred to the NATO member countries, have been collected in the Joint Theater Trauma System – Clinical Practice Guidelines. The stage-structured character of medical assistance and treatment of the wounded, injured and sick patients assumes that the scope of therapeutic activities performed at each stage is limited only to essential actions. Consequently, more injured patients may be saved – those for whom life-saving activities are performed prior to their transfer to a higher level. The second level is represented by a field hospital. Its first structure is the trauma room in which a rescue team saves and qualifies the injured for further medical activities. Each injured patient undergoes an eFAST ultrasound examination which allows for a quick decision about a surgical treatment to be provided. Moreover, this technique is helpful in vascular cannulation. The authors present their own experiences with using an ultrasound examination during the work in the Field Hospital of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan

A massive bleeding : what can we do in prehospital tactical care? : combat lessons-learned

Autorzy przedstawili praktyczne wnioski i zalecenia postępowania w przypadku wystąpienia krwotoków w warunkach pola walki. Ich stosowanie ma kluczowe znaczenie dla osiągnięcia sukcesu i przeżycia rannych w niesprzyjających warunkach środowiska taktycznego. Doświadczenia medycyny wojskowej i praktyczne rozwiązania w celu zapewnienia skutecznej hemostazy lub zachowania restrykcyjnej płynoterapii w przypadku krwotoków wewnętrznych mogą znaleźć zastosowanie również w cywilnej opiece przedszpitalnej.The authors presented the practical conclusions and therapeutic recommendations for the heavily bleeding patients, managed under combat conditions. Such therapy is vital for the wounded in the hostile tactical environment. The military medical solutions for assuring the effective hemostasis or applying the restrictive fluid therapy in internal bleeding cases may be useful also in civilian medicine

Acute mercuric chloride poisoning at a potentially lethal dose ended with survival: symptoms, concentration in cerebrospinal fluid, treatment

This study aims to present a case of acute mercuric chloride poisoning at a potentially lethal dose treated with the antidote – 2,3-dimercapto- 1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) combined with CytoSorb. A 21-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with abdominal pain, vomiting, and suspected gastrointestinal bleeding after taking 5000 mg of mercuric chloride for suicidal purposes. Due to the patient deteriorating general condition and multiple organ damage, on the third day she was transported to the Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (CAaIC), Łódź, Poland. Laboratory tests confirmed features of acute kidney injury and high mercury levels in the blood (1051 μg/l) and urine (22 960 μg/l) – DMPS therapy and CRRT combined with CytoSorb were instituted. Due to nervous system complaints (headache, dizziness), a lumbosacral puncture was performed – the mercury concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was 5.45 μg/l. During a colonoscopy, significant diagnostic abnormalities revealed features of colonic mucosal necrosis. The treatment resulted in a decrease in subjective complaints, decreased mercury levels in biological material, and improved parenchymal organ function. On the 15th day of therapy, the patient was transferred to the primary care center for further treatment. The case confirms the possibility of improvement of patient condition following ingestion of a potentially lethal dose (5 g) as a result of the initiation of appropriate therapy even on the third day. The presence of mercury in CSF confirms that inorganic mercury compounds (mercuric chloride) can pass through the blood-brain barrier after oral ingestion. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(5):685–9

ORGINAL PAPER<br>Pulmonary abscesses – aetiology and treatment. Ten-year experience of the Department of General and Thoracic Surgery in Lodz, Poland

Introduction: Primary lung abscess is a disease developing due to aspiration or embolization of the infected material from the lung tissue or on the basis of other diseases of different aetiology (secondary abscess). In the research, the authors referred to the aetiology and pathomorphology of lung abscesses and described modern methods of diagnosis and treatment. Material and methods: We treated 89 patients with lung abscess for over 10 years. The main aetiological causes were pneumonia (30%), choking (16,8%), aspiration of the foreign object (10%), injuries (8%) and unknown (21%). We evaluated bacterial flora from the abscess in 61 cases (68.5%). In surgical treatment, we applied resection of the lung tissue – 67 (anatomical – 32, unanatomical – 35), transcutaneous drainage – 9, pleural drainage – 11, cavernostomy – 2. Results: Positive results such as expansion of the lung, regression of the septic state and the possibility to discharge the patient home was obtained in 72 patients (80.9%). 26 patients developed severe complications, seven of which (7.9%) died in an early postoperative period (30 days from the surgical intervention). Conclusions: Surgical treatment of lung abscesses requires an individual approach to each patient regarding his general condition, aetiology, dimensions and the location of the lung abscess, presence of coexisting diseases and possible postoperative course of the disease. Patients with lung abscesses directed to surgical treatment are a specific group because of their poor general condition and lack of possibilities of conservative treatment, which influence the unsatisfactory outcome of treatment

Chylothorax as a rare complication of acute pancreatitis in a 25-year-old woman after cesarean section

The paper presents the case of a 25-year-old woman who underwent cesarean section for gynecological indications in the 37th week of her second pregnancy. The perioperative course was uncomplicated, but one day later the general condition of the patient suddenly deteriorated: she developed respiratory disorders requiring intubation and treatment in an intensive care unit. On the 6th day after the surgery, the patient was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Appropriate conservative treatment was instituted, resulting in a gradual improvement of her condition. On the 13th postoperative day, a cardiac arrest in asystole occurred, with no response to the undertaken resuscitation procedures. An autopsy performed in the Department of Forensic Medicine in Łódź revealed, among other findings, acute pancreatitis with enzymatic necrosis of the adipose tissue, a significant accumulation of lymph in both pleural cavities, and pulmonary atelectasis. As demonstrated by the analysis of the case, chylothorax had most probably developed in the course of acute pancreatitis which was a complication of the cesarean section. Consequently, the prosecutor opened an investigation into the case under Article 155 of the Polish Penal Code to assess the appropriateness of medical management. The medico-legal opinion was issued by experts from outside the Department of Forensic Medicine in Łódź. In their view, the medical management of the patient was correct