Background Thrombosis and inflammation may contribute to the risk of death and complications among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). We hypothesized that therapeutic-dose anticoagulation may improve outcomes in noncritically ill patients who are hospitalized with Covid-19. Methods In this open-label, adaptive, multiplatform, controlled trial, we randomly assigned patients who were hospitalized with Covid-19 and who were not critically ill (which was defined as an absence of critical care–level organ support at enrollment) to receive pragmatically defined regimens of either therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin or usual-care pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis. The primary outcome was organ support–free days, evaluated on an ordinal scale that combined in-hospital death (assigned a value of −1) and the number of days free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support up to day 21 among patients who survived to hospital discharge. This outcome was evaluated with the use of a Bayesian statistical model for all patients and according to the baseline d -dimer level. Results The trial was stopped when prespecified criteria for the superiority of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation were met. Among 2219 patients in the final analysis, the probability that therapeutic-dose anticoagulation increased organ support–free days as compared with usual-care thromboprophylaxis was 98.6% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.27; 95% credible interval, 1.03 to 1.58). The adjusted absolute between-group difference in survival until hospital discharge without organ support favoring therapeutic-dose anticoagulation was 4.0 percentage points (95% credible interval, 0.5 to 7.2). The final probability of the superiority of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation over usual-care thromboprophylaxis was 97.3% in the high d -dimer cohort, 92.9% in the low d -dimer cohort, and 97.3% in the unknown d -dimer cohort. Major bleeding occurred in 1.9% of the patients receiving therapeutic-dose anticoagulation and in 0.9% of those receiving thromboprophylaxis. Conclusions In noncritically ill patients with Covid-19, an initial strategy of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation with heparin increased the probability of survival to hospital discharge with reduced use of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support as compared with usual-care thromboprophylaxis. (ATTACC, ACTIV-4a, and REMAP-CAP ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT04372589 , NCT04505774 , NCT04359277 , and NCT02735707 .)

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Splenic embolization remains a valuable technique in splenic salvage, especially in higher grade injuries. Complications are common but do not seem to affect outcome.

Physician bias limited patient entry into the study. Although there were higher AIII scores in the head trauma early tracheostomy patients, there were no differences in the primary end points of ICU LOS, pneumonia, or death in any of the groups studied. Long-term endoscopic follow-up was poor, but no known late tracheal stenosis was seen.

Functional outcome after isolated mild TBI as measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale and modified FIM is generally good to excellent for both elderly and younger patients. Older patients required more inpatient rehabilitation and lagged behind their younger counterparts but continued to recover and improve after discharge. Although there were statistically significant differences in the FIM score at both discharge and 6 months, the clinical importance of these small differences in the mean FIM score to the patient's quality of life is less clear. Measurable improvement in functional status during the first 6 months after injury is observed in both groups. Aggressive management and care of older patients with TBI is warranted, and efforts should be made to decrease inpatient mortality. Continued follow-up is ongoing to determine whether these outcomes persist at 12 months.

Ultrasound should be the initial modality for the evaluation of patients with penetrating precordial wounds because it is accurate and rapid.

Background Acute Traumatic Coagulopathy (ATC) occurs after severe injury and shock and is associated with increased bleeding, morbidity and mortality. The effects of ATC and hemostatic resuscitation on outcome are not well-explored. The PRospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) study provided a unique opportunity to characterize coagulation and the effects of resuscitation on ATC after severe trauma. Methods Blood samples were collected upon arrival on a subset of PROMMTT patients. Plasma clotting factor levels were prospectively assayed for coagulation factors. These data were analyzed with comprehensive PROMMTT clinical data. Results There were 1198 patients with laboratory results of whom 41.6% were coagulopathic. Using International Normalized Ratio (INR)≥1.3, 41.6% (448) of patients were coagulopathic while 20.5% (214) were coagulopathic using partial thromboplastin time (PTT)≥35. Coagulopathy was primarily associated with a combination of an ISS>15 and a BD<−6 (P<.05). Regression modeling for INR-based coagulopathy shows that pre-hospital crystalloid (odds ratio (OR)=1.05), Injury Severity Score (ISS, OR=1.03), Glasgow Coma Scale (OR=0.93), heart rate (OR=1.08), systolic blood pressure (OR=0.96), base deficit (BD, OR=0.92) and temperature (OR=0.84) were significant predictors of coagulopathy (all P<.03). A subset of 165 patients had blood samples collected and coagulation factor analysis performed. Elevated ISS and BD were associated with elevation of aPC and depletion of factors (all P<.05). Reductions in factors I, II, V, VIII and an increase in aPC drive ATC (all p<.04). Similar results were found for PTT-defined coagulopathy. Conclusions ATC is associated with depletion of factors I, II, V, VII, VIII, IX and X and is driven by the activation of the protein C system. These data provide additional mechanistic understanding of the drivers of coagulation abnormalities after injury. Further understanding of the drivers of ATC and the effects of resuscitation can guide factor guided resuscitation and correction of coagulopathy after injury.

The administration of LMWH is a safe and extremely effective method of preventing DVT in high-risk trauma patients. When heparin is contraindicated, aggressive attempts at mechanical compression are warranted.