Secondary damage management of acute traumatic spinal cord injury in low and middle-income countries: A survey on a global scale (Part III)

In LMICs, several factor may affect the applicability of guidelines for secondary damage control of spinal cord injury.•In LMICs, the use of steroids for spinal cord injury is heterogeneous and admissions to an intensive care units are limited.•The delays for surgical decompression of spinal cord injury can be significan and vary across income and geographic region.•Transfer times seem to be the most common reason for surgical delay in all income and geographic regions.•Costs for surgery for spinal trauma may be a significant barrier to guideline adherence, especially in low-resource settings

Exploración de las perspectivas y el cumplimiento de las directrices para traumatismos de la columna vertebral en adultos en economías sanitarias de ingresos bajos y medios: Una encuesta sobre barreras y posibles soluciones (parte I)

• Most spinal trauma occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but some elements may limit the application of current guidelines. • In LMICs, a respectable proportion of physicians treating spinal trauma is not aware of any guidelines on this topic. • Most physicians managing spinal trauma in LMICs believe that following the guidelines may positively affect patient outcomes. • Most believed they have the capability to apply, the guidelines, but variation according to income and geographical region exists. • The perceived limitations and their relevance to guideline adherence vary across different income and geographic areas worldwide. • Resource-targeted guidelines for spinal trauma are considered a valuable option to overcome the limitations of real-life application of the current guidelines

Kesici-delici alet yaralanmalarında penetran kardiyak travma: Kardiyak bölgenin doğru tanısına ilişkin bir çalışma

BACKGROUND: Stab wounds (SW) to the thorax raises suspicion for cardiac injuries; however, the topographic description is variable. The present study aims to evaluate different topographical descriptions within the thorax and establish their diagnostic value in penetrating cardiac trauma by SW. METHODS: Medical records of all patients admitted to our center with thoracic SW from January 2013 to June 2016 were included in this study. Diagnostic value potential was measured using different areas of the thorax described in the literature. RESULTS: In this study, we analyzed 306 cases. Thirty-eight (12.4%) patients had a cardiac injury managed surgically. Death by cardiac injury occurred in seven (18.4%) patients. The cardiac area defined between the right mid-clavicle line until the left anterior axillary line, and between 2nd and 6th intercostal spaces was the more accurate. It has sensitivity of 97.3%, specificity 72%, positive predictive value 33%, negative predictive value 99.4% and accuracy 75.1% for penetrating cardiac trauma. ROC was 0.894 IC 95% (0.760–0.901). CONCLUSION: Among the thoracic areas, topographical limits between the right mid-clavicle line and the left anterior axillary line, and between 2nd and 6th intercostal spaces are the more accurate and are highly indicative of cardiac injury in patients with SW to the thorax

The role of decompressive craniectomy in limited resource environments

Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a neurosurgical procedure useful to prevent and manage the impact of high intracranial pressure (ICP) that leads to brain herniation and brain’s tissue ischemia. In well-resourced environment this procedure has been proposed as a last tier therapy when ICP is not controlled by medical therapies in the management of different neurosurgical emergencies like traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, infectious diseases, hydrocephalus, tumors, etc. The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the role of DC in areas of low neurosurgical and neurocritical care resources. We performed a literature review with a specific search strategy in web repositories and some local and regional journals from Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The most common publications include case reports, case series and observational studies describing the benefits of the procedure on different pathologies but with several types of biases due to the absence of robust studies or clinical registries analysis in these kinds of environments

Epidemiological review of spinal cord injury due to road traffic accidents in latin america

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disease that affects the normal function of the spinal cord. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the main cause of SCI worldwide. SCI may generate physical disability and economic dependency, which is especially significant in low- and middle-income countries such as most of the Latin American countries. The main objective of this study was to present an epidemiological review of SCI secondary to RTAs. Stronger evidence on this condition in Latin America is important for future-specific data collection and prevention strategies. A literature review was carried out using specific search strategies in databases of indexed journals from the period 2000 to 2019. Data on SCI secondary to RTAs in the Latin American region were collected and analyzed. After initial screening and removal of duplicates, 16 articles met the inclusion criteria and were chosen for analysis. Data from 7 Latin American countries were retrievable. On average, RTAs were responsible for 40.81% of SCI. Data from different studies are heterogeneous. Car accidents and moto accidents were equally responsible for SCIs (50.61% vs. 49.06%). The thoracic segments were the most commonly affected (57.87%). Males in their 30s were the most affected category (76.6%). SCI due to RTAs may represent a severe but preventable condition that affects mostly men in their productive age, generating important social and economic issues. Data about this condition in Latin America are scarce, and could limit prevention and treatment strategies. Prospective data collection about this condition is recommended

An Umbrella Review With Meta-Analysis of Chest Computed Tomography for Diagnosis of COVID-19: Considerations for Trauma Patient Management

BackgroundRT-PCR testing is the standard for diagnosis of COVID-19, although it has its suboptimal sensitivity. Chest computed tomography (CT) has been proposed as an additional tool with diagnostic value, and several reports from primary and secondary studies that assessed its diagnostic accuracy are already available. To inform recommendations and practice regarding the use of chest CT in the in the trauma setting, we sought to identify, appraise, and summarize the available evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of chest CT for diagnosis of COVID-19, and its application in emergency trauma surgery patients; overcoming limitations of previous reports regarding chest CT accuracy and discussing important considerations regarding its role in this setting.MethodsWe conducted an umbrella review using Living Overview of Evidence platform for COVID-19, which performs regular automated searches in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and more than 30 other sources. The review was conducted following the JBI methodology for systematic reviews. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach for grading the certainty of the evidence is reported (registered in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42020198267).ResultsThirty studies that fulfilled selection criteria were included; 19 primary studies provided estimates of sensitivity (0.91, 95%CI = [0.88–0.93]) and specificity (0.73, 95%CI = [0.61; 0.82]) of chest CT for COVID-19. No correlation was found between sensitivities and specificities (ρ = 0.22, IC95% [–0.33; 0.66]). Diagnostic odds ratio was estimated at: DOR = 27.5, 95%CI (14.7; 48.5). Evidence for sensitivity estimates was graded as MODERATE, and for specificity estimates it was graded as LOW.ConclusionThe value of chest CT appears to be that of an additional screening tool that can easily detect PCR false negatives, which are reportedly highly frequent. Upon the absence of PCR testing and impossibility to perform RT-PCR in trauma patients, chest CT can serve as a substitute with increased value and easy implementation.Systematic Review Registration[www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero], identifier [CRD42020198267]

Remote supratentorial hemorrhage after posterior fossa surgery: A brief case report

The supratentorial hemorrhage after posterior fossa surgery is an unusual but delicate complication that carries high mortality and morbidity. A 50 year old woman presented vertigo 6 months of evolution, which worsened in the last 2 months accompanied by ataxia. She showed left cerebellar signs, had no focal motor or sensory deficits. A brain MRI identified cerebellopontine angle lesion with mass effect. The patient was treated on suboccipital craniectomy and resection of right posterior fossa tumor, the histopathological diagnosis was consistent with typical meningioma. (WHO Class I).The postoperative period was satisfactory. A month later, presented clinical symptoms of right-sided hemiparesis, brain CT revealed left frontal supratentorial hematoma, receiving conservative management. Patient was discharged after 10 days. Reports in the literature on this rare complication, detailed cases where the hematoma was presented in hours to days. To our knowledge this is the first report in the literature of supratentorial hemorrhage and posterior fossa surgery one month after the surgical procedure has been performed

Traumatic dural venous sinus thrombosis: A Mini Review

The dural venous sinus thrombosis is a benign disease, representing about 1% of cerebral vascular events. In some cases the development of the disease increased intracranial pressure or symptomatic epilepsy. The development towards a dural venous sinus thrombosis is rare, but is a condition to be considered before the development of ischemic vascular events and a history of recent head trauma. Intracranial hematomas or skull fractures can lead to the establishment of obstructive pathology of the dural venous sinuses. The knowledge of this entity is necessary for the critical care staff and neurosurgery staff