Multidisciplinary Management of Severe Extremity Injuries

Management of severe extremity injuries begins with controlling bleeding and stabilizing hemodynamics. There is no agreement regarding the selection of amputation or limb salvage for severe extremity injuries. The injury severity scoring system should be carefully and judiciously used. The important factor for the management of open fractures is how early the injured area of soft tissues is covered. Inappropriate management would increase complications and prolong the treatment period. Multidisciplinary management by specialists, in the emergency department, orthopedics, plastic surgery, vascular surgery, and rehabilitation, insisting on employing their own individual abilities as much as possible, would not only help to salvage limbs in severe extremity injuries but also provide highly satisfactory functional and aesthetic outcomes for patients

Effect of Physical Changes in Aging on Driving Performance

The growing population of older drivers has led to societal demands for the development of technologies better suited to the characteristics of older people. One effective way of addressing this situation is to examine closely the structure that causes the performance of older drivers and then use that information to develop technologies. As the first step toward understanding that structure in this research, an attempt was made to identify significant elements of the structure from a human factors standpoint in order to pursue this approach efficiently. A questionnaire survey, an observation of driving behavior and an interview survey were conducted with older drivers. The most significant perspectives on driving were extracted from the results. Tests were then conducted with a driving simulator to verify those perspectives. Based on the surveys and tests, two significant characteristics were identified concerning the influence of aging on driving behavior. One concerns the disintegration of the stimulus-perception-cognition-response system and the other concerns the transition in attention

Medical Treatment for Burn Patients with Eating Disorders: A Case Report

There have been many cases of burn patients who also suffer from psychiatric problems, including eating disorders. We present a case of a 38-year-old female with an eating disorder and depression who became light-headed and fell, spilling boiling water from a kettle on herself at home sustaining partial thickness and full thickness burns over 5% of her total body surface area: left buttock and right thigh and calf. Eating disorders (in the present case, anorexia nervosa) cause emaciation and malnutrition, and consent for hospitalization from the patient and/or family is often difficult. During the medical treatment of burns for these patients, consideration not only of physical symptoms caused by malnutrition but also the psychiatric issues is required. Therefore, multifaceted and complex care must be given to burn patients with eating disorders