Epidemiology of combined clavicle and rib fractures:a systematic review

Purpose The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the incidence of combined clavicle and rib fractures and the association between these two injuries. Methods A systematic literature search was performed in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases on the 14(th) of August 2020. Outcome measures were incidence, hospital length of stay (HLOS), intensive care unit admission and length of stay (ILOS), duration of mechanical ventilation (DMV), mortality, chest tube duration, Constant-Murley score, union and complications. Results Seven studies with a total of 71,572 patients were included, comprising five studies on epidemiology and two studies on treatment. Among blunt chest trauma patients, 18.6% had concomitant clavicle and rib fractures. The incidence of rib fractures in polytrauma patients with clavicle fractures was 56-60.6% versus 29% in patients without clavicle fractures. Vice versa, 14-18.8% of patients with multiple rib fractures had concomitant clavicle fractures compared to 7.1% in patients without multiple rib fractures. One study reported no complications after fixation of both injuries. Another study on treatment, reported shorter ILOS and less complications among operatively versus conservatively treated patients (5.4 +/- 1.5 versus 21 +/- 13.6 days). Conclusion Clavicle fractures and rib fractures are closely related in polytrauma patients and almost a fifth of all blunt chest trauma patients sustain both injuries. Definitive conclusions could not be drawn on treatment of the combined injury. Future research should further investigate indications and benefits of operative treatment of this injury

Cardiovascular parameters on computed tomography are independently associated with in-hospital complications and outcomes in level-1 trauma patients

BACKGROUND: In-hospital complications after trauma may result in prolonged stays, higher costs, and adverse functional outcomes. Among reported risk factors for complications are pre-existing cardiopulmonary comorbidities. Objective and quick evaluation of cardiovascular risk would be beneficial for risk assessment in trauma patients. Studies in non-trauma patients suggested an independent association between cardiovascular abnormalities visible on routine computed tomography (CT) imaging and outcomes. However, whether this applies to trauma patients is unknown. PURPOSE: To assess the association between cardiopulmonary abnormalities visible on routine CT images and the development of in-hospital complications in patients in a level-1 trauma center. METHODS: All trauma patients aged 16 years or older with CT imaging of the abdomen, thorax, or spine and admitted to the UMC Utrecht in 2017 were included. Patients with an active infection upon admission or severe neurological trauma were excluded. Routine trauma CT images were analyzed for visible abnormalities: pulmonary emphysema, coronary artery calcifications, and abdominal aorta calcification severity. Drug-treated complications were scored. The discharge condition was measured on the Glasgow Outcome Scale. RESULTS: In total, 433 patients (median age 50 years, 67% male, 89% ASA 1-2) were analyzed. Median Injury Severity Score and Glasgow Coma Scale score were 9 and 15, respectively. Seventy-six patients suffered from at least one complication, mostly pneumonia (n = 39, 9%) or delirium (n = 19, 4%). Left main coronary artery calcification was independently associated with the development of any complication (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.7-8.9). An increasing number of calcified coronary arteries showed a trend toward an association with complications (p = 0.07) and was significantly associated with an adverse discharge condition (p = 0.02). Pulmonary emphysema and aortic calcifications were not associated with complications. CONCLUSION: Coronary artery calcification, visible on routine CT imaging, is independently associated with in-hospital complications and an adverse discharge condition in level-1 trauma patients. The findings of this study may help to identify trauma patients quickly and objectively at risk for complications in an early stage without performing additional diagnostics or interventions

The value of chest radiography after chest tube removal in nonventilated trauma patients: a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Chest tubes are commonly placed in trauma care to treat life-threatening intrathoracic injuries by evacuating blood or air from the pleural cavity. Currently, it is common practice to routinely obtain chest radiographs between 1 to 8 hours after chest tube removal, while the necessity of it has been questioned. This study describes the “ins-and-outs” of chest tubes and evaluates the value of routine postremoval chest radiography in nonventilated trauma patients. METHODS: A post hoc analysis of a multicenter observational prospective cohort study was performed in blunt chest trauma patients admitted with multiple rib fractures to two level 1 trauma centers between January 2018 and March 2021 and treated with one or more chest tubes. Exclusion criteria were mechanical ventilation during chest tube removal, missing reports of postremoval chest radiography, transfer to another hospital, or mortality before chest tube removal. Descriptive analyses were performed to calculate the number of findings on postremoval chest radiographs and reinterventions. RESULTS: A total of 207 patients were included for analysis of whom 14 underwent bilateral chest tube placement, resulting in 221 chest tube removals investigated in this study. The mean ± SD age was 58 ± 17 years, 71% were male, 73% had American Society of Anesthesiologists scores of 1 or 2, and the median Injury Severity Score was 19 (interquartile range, 14–29). In 68 of 221 chest tube removals (31%), postremoval chest radiography showed increased or recurrent intrathoracic pathology (i.e., 13% pneumothorax, 18% pleural fluid, and 8% atelectasis). Only two (3%) of these patients underwent a same-day reintervention based on these findings, of whom one had signs or symptoms of recurrent pathology and one was asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: It seems safe to omit routine use of postremoval chest radiography in nonventilated blunt chest trauma patients and to selectively use imaging in those patients presenting with clinical signs or symptoms after chest tube removal

Non-operative vs. operative treatment for multiple rib fractures after blunt thoracic trauma: a multicenter prospective cohort study

Background: Patients with multiple rib fractures without a clinical flail chest are increasingly being treated with rib fixation; however, high-quality evidence to support this development is lacking. Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter observational study comparing rib fixation to non-operative treatment in all patients aged 18 years and older with computed tomography confirmed multiple rib fractures without a clinical flail chest. Three centers performed rib fixation as standard of care. For adequate comparison, the other three centers performed only non-operative treatment. As such clinical equipoise formed the basis for the comparison in this study. Patients were matched using propensity score matching. Results: In total 927 patients with multiple rib fractures were included. In the three hospitals that performed rib fixation, 80 (14%) out of 591 patients underwent rib fixation. From the nonoperative centers, on average 71 patients were adequately matched to 71 rib fixation patients after propensity score matching. Rib fixation was associated with an increase in hospital length of stay (HLOS) of 4.9 days (95%CI 0.8–9.1, p = 0.02) and a decrease in quality of life (QoL) measured by the EQ5D questionnaire at 1 year of 0.1 (95% CI − 0.2–0.0, p = 0.035) compared to non-operative treatment. A subgroup analysis of patients who received operative care within 72 h showed a similar decrease in QoL. Up to 22 patients (28%) who underwent surgery experienced implant-related irritation. Conclusions: We found no benefits and only detrimental effects associated with rib fixation. Based on these results, we do not recommend rib fixation as the standard of care for patients with multiple rib fractures. Trial registration: Registered in the Netherlands Trial Register NTR6833 on 13/11/2017

Nonoperative treatment of multiple rib fractures, the results to beat: International multicenter prospective cohort study among 845 patients

BACKGROUND Optimal treatment (i.e., nonoperative or operative) for patients with multiple rib fractures remains debated. Studies that compare treatments are rationalized by the alleged poor outcomes of nonoperative treatment. METHODS The aim of this prospective international multicenter cohort study (between January 2018 and March 2021) with 1-year follow-up, was to report contemporary outcomes of nonoperatively treated patients with multiple rib fractures. Including 845 patients with three or more rib fractures. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay (HLOS), (pulmonary) complications, and quality of life. RESULTS Mean age was 57.7 ± 17.0 years, median Injury Severity Score was 17 (13-22) and the median number of rib fractures was 6 (4-8). In-hospital mortality rate was 1.5% (n = 13), 112 (13.3%) patients had pneumonia and four (0.5%) patients developed a symptomatic nonunion. The median HLOS was 7 days (4-13 days), and median intensive care unit length of stay was 2 days (1-5 days). Mean 5-Level Quality of Life Questionnaire index value was 0.83 ± 0.18 1 year after trauma. Polytrauma patients had a median HLOS of 10 days (6-18 days), a pneumonia rate of 17.6% (n = 77) and mortality rate of 1.7% (n = 7). Elderly patients (≥65 years) had a median HLOS of 9 days (5-15 days), a pneumonia rate of 19.7% (n = 57) and mortality rate of 4.1% (n = 12). CONCLUSION Overall, nonoperative treatment of patients with multiple rib fractures shows low mortality and morbidity rate and good quality of life after 1 year. Future studies evaluating the benefit of operative stabilization should use contemporary outcomes to establish the therapeutic margin of rib fixation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Taxonomy, evolution, and stratigraphic value of Azolla and Azollopsis in the upper Cretaceous and early Tertiary

Bibliography: p. 335-340

Maastrichtian-Paleocene foreland basin stratigraphies, Western Canada: A reciprocal sequence architecture

Abstract: Palynological and magnetostratigraphic chronostratigraphic correlations of lower Maastrichtian to Paleocene strata along an east-west Western Canada Basin transect allow for the recognition of a reciprocal sequence architecture in nonmarine strata. Reference sections include three Canadian Continental Drilling Program Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary Project core holes and outcrops in Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and north-central Montana. The spatial and temporal position of the third-order sequences provides evidence for the correlation of proximal sector regional disconformities and sedimentary wedges with distal sector sedimentary wedges and regional disconformities, respectively. The boundary between the two sectors is represented by a hingeline, which separates the foreland-basin "syncline" from the "peripheral bulge." The stratigraphies defined by reciprocal third-order sequences are complicated by fourth-order boundaries, developed within proximal sedimentary wedges and with no correlative distal strata. These results support tectonic control on foreland-basin sedimentation. A model for interpreting the various types of sequences in terms of foreland-basin evolution, vertical tectonics, and orogenic cycles is provided. It is argued that nonmarine sequence boundaries (times of maximum uplift in the foreland region) may be expressed as disconformities, incised valleys, top of mature paleosol levels, or base of fluvial channels, whereas nonmarine equivalents of marine maximum flooding surfaces (times of maximum basinal subsidence) may be indicated by extensive coal seams and (or) lacustrine sediments. Résumé : Les corrélations palynologiques, magnétostratigraphiques et chronostratigraphiques des strates échelonnées du Maastrichtien inférieur au Paléocène, le long du transect est-ouest du bassin de la Cordillère occidentale au Canada, permettent la reconnaissance d'une ordonnance architecturale de séquences réciproques dans les strates continentales. Les coupes de référence incluent trois trous de forage carottés du «Canadian Continental Drilling Program CretaceousTertiary Boundary Project», et des affleurements localisés en Alberta, dans le sud de la Saskatchewan et dans le centrenord du Montana. La position spatiale et temporelle des séquences de troisième ordre plaide pour la mise en corrélation des discordances régionales et des dépôts sédimentaires en coin dans le secteur proximal avec les dépôts sédimentaires en coin et les discordances régionales dans le secteur distal, respectivement. Une ligne de jonction représente la limite entre les deux secteurs, qui sépare le bassin d'avant pays «en forme de cuvette» du «bombement périphérique». Les stratigraphies définies par les séquences de troisième ordre réciproques sont embrouillées par les limites de quatrième ordre, développées au sein des dépôts sédimentaires en coin proximaux sans la présence de strates distales corrélatives. Ces résultats appuient la thèse d'un contrôle tectonique sur le bassin sédimentaire d'avant-pays. On présente ici un modèle interprétant les divers types de séquences en termes d'évolution d'un bassin d'avant-pays, de tectonique verticale et de cycles orogéniques. Nous tentons de démontrer que les discordances, les vallées entaillées, les horizons sommitaux de paléosols matures ou la base des chenaux fluviaux peuvent aider à définir les limites des séquences continentales (périodes de soulèvement maximum dans la région de l'avant-pays), tandis que les couches de charbon étendues et (ou) les sédiments lacustres représentent plutôt les équivalents continentaux des aires d'inondation maximale (périodes de subsidence maximum du bassin). [Traduit par la Rédaction] Catuneanu and Sweet 70