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A B S T R A C TObjective: To evaluate whether the shock index (SI), given by the formula SI = heart rate/systolic blood pressure (HR/SBP), is useful for predicting mortality at 24 h in trauma patients admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital in Colombia. Methods: A database of trauma patients admitted between January 2013 and December 2013 was constructed; the result according to the shock index was determined, generating a dichotomous variable with two groups: Group A (SI < 0.9) and Group B (SI > 0.9). Univariate analysis was performed. Results: A total of 666 patients were analyzed, 83.3% (555) had SI < 0.9, and 16.7% (111) SI > 0.9. The mean age for Groups A and B was 32.4 and 35.4 respectively. The average injury severity score for both groups was 9.6 and 17.6 respectively. Mortality at 24 h after injury for both groups was 3.1% (P = 0.032) and 59.5% (P = 0.027) respectively. Conclusions: An initial shock index greater than 0.9 implies a worse prognosis 24 h after injury. The shock index predicts mortality in multiple trauma patients in the emergency department, and is also a quick and applicable in all hospital.

Mated CD-1 mice were exposed to 20-kHz sawtooth magnetic fields similar to those associated with video display terminals (VDT). Four groups of animals were continuously exposed from day 1 to day 18 of pregnancy to field strengths of 0, 3.6, 17, or 200 microT. There were no less than 185 mated dams in each exposure group. On day 18, the dams were sacrificed and assessed for weight gain and pregnancy. The litters were evaluated for numbers of implantations, fetal deaths and resorptions, gross external, visceral and skeletal malformations, and fetal weights. There were no less than 140 pregnant females in each group, and there were no significant differences between any of the exposure groups and the sham group (0 microT) for any of the end points. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that the 20-kHz VLF magnetic fields associated with video display terminals are teratogenic in mammals.

DC for neurotrauma with ECD is an option to improve survival and favourable neurological outcomes 12 months after injury in patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury treated in a university hospital with few resources for ICU neuro-monitoring.

El trauma craneoencefálico (TCE) es una patología médico-quirúrgica caracterizada por una alteración cerebral secundaria a una lesión traumática en la cabeza generando un daño estructural del contenido de ésta, incluyendo el tejido cerebral y sus vasos sanguíneos. La incidencia es de 200 personas por cada 100.000 habitantes, la etiología más frecuente son los accidentes de tránsito (70%), seguidos de hechos violentos y/o caídas desde su propia altura dependiendo del área geográfica en el que se encuentre. En esta revisión, se explicarán las lesiones primarias, secundarias, terciarias, el deterioro retardado, los tipos de hipertensión endocraneana y las lesiones específicas como fisiopatología del TCE, así como la evaluación clínica e imagenológica de las lesiones y su adecuado tratamiento.

Introduction:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a public health problem. It is a pathology that causes significant mortality and disability in Colombia. Different calculators and prognostic models have been developed to predict the neurological outcomes of these patients. The Rotterdam computed tomography (CT) score was developed for prognostic purposes in TBI. We aimed to examine the accuracy of the prognostic discrimination and prediction of mortality of the Rotterdam CT score in a cohort of trauma patients with severe TBI in a university hospital in Colombia.Materials and Methods:We analyzed 127 patients with severe TBI treated in a regional trauma center in Colombia over a 2-year period. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. The discriminatory power of the score, its accuracy, and precision were assessed by logistic regression and as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Shapiro–Wilk, Chi-square, and Wilcoxon tests were used to compare the real outcomes in the cohort against the predicted outcomes.Results:The median age of the patient cohort was 33 years, and 84.25% were male. The median injury severity score was 25, the median Glasgow Coma Scale motor score was 3, the basal cisterns were closed in 46.46% of the patients, and a midline shift of >5 mm was seen in 50.39%. The 6-month mortality was 29.13%, and the Rotterdam CT score predicted a mortality of 26% (P < 0.0001) (area under the curve: 0.825; 95% confidence interval: 0.745–0.903).Conclusions:The Rotterdam CT score predicted mortality at 6 months in patients with severe head trauma in a university hospital in Colombia. The Rotterdam CT score is useful for predicting early death and the prognosis of patients with TBI.

Introduction:Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is a disease that generates significant mortality and disability in Latin America, and specifically in Colombia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 12-month clinical outcome in patients with sTBI managed with an early cranial decompression (ECD) as the main procedure for damage control (DC) therapy, performed in a University Hospital in Colombia over a 4-year period.Materials and Methods:A database of 106 patients who received the ECD procedure, and were managed according to the strategy for DC in neurotrauma, was analyzed. Variables were evaluated, and the patient outcome was determined according to the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) at 12 months postinjury. This was used to generate a dichotomous variable with “favorable” (GOS of 4 or 5) or “unfavorable” (GOS of 1–3) outcomes; analysis of variance was performed with the Chi-square, Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney and Fisher tests.Results:An overall survival rate of 74.6% was observed for the procedure, At 12 months postsurgery, a favorable clinical outcome (GOS 4–5) was found in 70 patients (66.1%), Unfavorable outcomes in patients were associated with the following factors: Closed trauma, an Injury Severity Score >16, obliterated basal cisterns, subdural hematoma as the main injury seen on the admission computed tomography, and nonreactive pupils observed in the emergency department.Conclusion:Twelve months outcome of patients with sTBI managed with ECD in a neuromonitoring limited resource University Hospital in Colombia shows an important survival rate with favorable clinical outcome measure with GOS.

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