background Two distinct Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems exist in Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia operates an Advanced Emergency Medical System (AEMS) and New Brunswick operates a Basic Emergency Medical System (BEMS). We sought to determine if survival rates differed between the two systems. Methods This study examined patients with trauma who were transported directly to a level 1 trauma centre in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2013. Data were extracted from the respective provincial trauma registries; the lowest common Injury Severity Score (ISS) collected by both registries was ISS≥13. Survival to hospital and survival to discharge or 30 days were the primary endpoints. A separate analysis was performed on severely injured patients. Hypothesis testing was conducted using Fisher's exact test and the Student's t-test. results 101 cases met inclusion criteria in New Brunswick and were compared with 251 cases in Nova Scotia. Overall mortality was low with 93% of patients surviving to hospital and 80% of patients surviving to discharge or 30 days. There was no difference in survival to hospital between the AEMS (232/251, 92%) and BEMS (97/101, 96%; OR 1.98, 95% CI 0.66 to 5.99; p=0.34) groups. Furthermore, when comparing patients with more severe injuries (ISS>24) there was no significant difference in survival (71/80, 89% vs 31/33, 94%; OR 1.96, 95% CI 0.40 to 9.63; p=0.50). Conclusion Overall survival to hospital was the same between advanced and basic Canadian EMS systems. As numbers included are low, individual case benefit cannot be excluded.
Background: Self-inflicted trauma (SIT) is a public health issue ranking 4th as leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Methods: Retrospective descriptive analysis of patients admitted to a level 1 trauma centre with self-inflicted injuries, 2008-2013. Results: Over a 5-year period, 268 patients with SIT presented to our hospital, 177 (66%) male, average age 39.4 years (SD 16). The most common mechanism of injury was stabbing, (47%), followed by jumping (26.86%). Jumpers had higher ISS (22 v. 9). Seasonal variation showed summer with highest incidence (34%), winter having the lowest (17%). Patients from rural areas accounted for 28%, these were younger (30 v. 42 years, p = 0.002), had lower ISS (9 v. 14, p = 0.007), presented with more firearm injuries (18.6% vs. 2.3%). Overall, 63 (23%) patients had pre-existing psychiatric disease; these patients had longer LOS (20 v. 7 days, p = 0.002), and had jumping from height as predominant mechanism (p = 0.01). Mortality was 13.8%. Patients that died were older (42 v. 30 years, p = 0.002), had higher ISS (14 v. 9, p = 0.007), longer LOS (13.5 v. 6 days, p = 0.004), with fall being the predominant mechanism associated with mortality (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:Our study defines and characterizes the population at risk for SIT in an attempt to implement appropriate prevention strategies and improve the existing post-injury care pathway.Abdominal compartment syndrome in the child. Gilgamesh Eamer,* Ioana Bratu.
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