Management of blunt traumatic thoracic aorta injuries with endovascular stent-grafts in a tertiary hospital in an urban Asian city.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic aortic injury from blunt trauma is a life-threatening condition with significant mortality and morbidity with open surgical repair. Endovascular means of treatment is emerging as an attractive and less invasive option. We report our experience with endovascular stent-graft repair for blunt traumatic thoracic aorta injury. METHODS: Between January 2003 and August 2009, six patients underwent endovascular repair of blunt traumatic thoracic aorta injury. Data from the medical records of these patients were analyzed. RESULTS: All patients had deceleration injury resulting in thoracic aorta pseudoaneurysm at the aortic isthmus just distal to the left subclavian artery. Four patients were motorcyclists who had been involved in road-traffic accidents and two had fallen from a height. The mean Injury Severity Score was 33.8 (range, 21-43). All procedures were performed within 48 hours of admission and technical success was 100%. Five patients (83.3%) had the left subclavian artery intentionally covered by the stent-graft to achieve adequate proximal landing zone. None of them had any left upper limb ischemic complications or cerebrovascular events after the procedure. One patient had preservation of the left subclavian artery because intraoperative vertebral angiogram showed a hypoplastic right vertebral artery. No other procedural complications, paraplegia, or deaths were reported. Mean follow-up was 18.8 months (range, 1.5-42 months). CONCLUSIONS: Our early experience of endovascular stent-grafting for blunt traumatic thoracic aorta injury suggests that this emerging technique is safe for treatment of such pathology in our inherently Asian population. Left subclavian artery may be sacrificed if adequate proximal landing zone is required for the stent-graft; and when vertebral angiogram was performed which did not show a dominant left vertebral artery.

Management of pancreatic injuries after blunt abdominal trauma. Experience at a single institution.

CONTEXT: Pancreatic injuries after blunt abdominal trauma could result in significant morbidity, and even mortality if missed. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to review our institution's experience with blunt pancreatic trauma. SETTING: Our study included all cases of blunt traumatic pancreatic injuries. PATIENTS: Sixteen patients (median age 41 years; range: 18-60 years) were treated for blunt pancreatic trauma from December 2002 to June 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Pancreatic injuries were graded according to the definition of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). RESULTS: CT scans were performed on 10 (62.5%) patients, with the remaining 6 (37.5%) sent to the operating theatre immediately due to their injuries. Of the 12 (75.0%) patients who underwent exploratory laparotomy, 2 (12.5%) had a distal pancreatectomy (AAST grade III), 1 (6.3%) underwent a Whipple procedure (AAST grade IV) while another 2 (12.5%) were too hemodynamically unstable for any definitive surgery (AAST grade IV and V); the remaining 7 (43.8%) pancreatic injuries were managed conservatively. Four (25.0%) patients had their injuries managed non-operatively. Some of the associated complications included intra-abdominal collection (n=2, 12.5%) and chest infection (n=2, 12.5%). CONCLUSION: Blunt pancreatic trauma continues to pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. In view of the numerous associated injuries, priority must be given to stabilizing the patient before any definitive management of the pancreatic injuries is carried out. Mortality in these patients is usually a result of the magnitude of their associated injuries.

Predictors of Change in Functional Outcome at six months and twelve months after Severe Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: There is increasing focus on long-term survival, function and quality-of-life for trauma patients. There are few studies tracking longitudinal changes in functional outcome over time. The goal of our study was to compare the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) at 6 months and 12 months in blunt trauma survivors with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of more than 15. Methods: Using the Singapore National Trauma Registry 2011-2013, patients with 6-month GOSE and 12-month GOSE scores were analysed. Patients were grouped into three categories-those with the same score at 6 months and 12 months, an improvement in score, and a worse score at 12 months. Ordinal regression was used to identify risk factors for improved score. Patients with missing scores at either 6 months or 12 months were excluded. Results: We identified 478 patients: 174 had an improvement in score, 233 stayed the same, and 71 had worse scores at 12 months compared to 6 months. On univariate ordinal regression, the following variables were associated with same or better function at 12-months compared to 6-months: male gender, being employed pre-injury, thoracic Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) of 3 or more, anatomical polytrauma (AIS of 3 or more in 2 or more body regions), and road traffic injury mechanism. Older age, low fall, increasing Charlson comorbidity scores, new injury severity score, and head and neck AIS of 3 or more were associated with worse function at 12 months compared to 6 months. ISS and revised trauma score were not significant predictors on univariate or multivariable analysis.On multivariable ordinal regression, motor vehicle mechanism (OR 2.78, 1.51-5.12, p = 0.001) was associated with improved function, while male gender (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.02-1.82, p = 0.039) predicted improved function at 12 months. Conclusions: Females experience worse functional outcomes at 12 months, potentially due to majority of female injuries being low falls in the elderly. In contrast, motor vehicle injury patients had better functional outcomes at 12 months. Additional interventional strategies for high-risk groups should be explored.

Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries: a retrospective review of a 12-year experience at a tertiary trauma centre.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries (TDIs) are clinically challenging. We aimed to review TDIs treated at a tertiary trauma centre over a 12-year period. METHODS: This was a single-centre retrospective review of adult patients with TDIs treated between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2014. Primary outcomes were mortality rates and Injury Severity Scores (ISS) associated with each TDI subtype. Secondary outcomes included proportions of TDIs diagnosed radiologically, operatively or during autopsy. We compared the TDI subtypes with respect to mechanism of injury, mortality rates and median ISS. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Among 46 patients studied, the TDI subtypes noted were acute diaphragmatic herniation (n = 14, 30.4%), tears (n = 22, 47.8%) and contusions (n = 10, 21.7%). Patients with these TDI subtypes had a mortality rate of 35.7%-100%, while the ISS ranges for survivors and deaths were 22.0-34.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 6.5-23.0) and 53.5-66.0 (IQR 16.0-28.5), respectively. TDIs were identified via chest radiography (n = 2/33, 6.1%) and computed tomography (n = 6/13, 46.2%). All survivors (n = 21) and deaths (n = 25) underwent open surgery or autopsy, respectively, which confirmed TDIs. Blunt traumas and penetrating traumas were more frequently associated with acute herniation/contusions and tears, respectively. There were statistically significant differences among the TDI subtypes in their mechanism of injury, mortality rate and median ISS of survivors. CONCLUSION: TDIs showed varying injury patterns with blunt versus penetrating mechanisms of injury, and were associated with significant mortality rates. Preoperative imaging had limited diagnostic use.

A review of stab wound injuries at a tertiary trauma centre in Singapore: are self-inflicted ones less severe?

INTRODUCTION: In Singapore, as strict laws are a strong deterrent against armed violence, little is known about the epidemiology of penetrating stab wound injuries. Our study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of stab wound injuries at a major trauma centre in Singapore and determine if there was a difference in severity between self-inflicted stab wound (SI) injuries and those inflicted by others (IO). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all penetrating injuries at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and identified and categorised all stab wound injuries as SI or IO. Basic demographic information, injury severity characteristics and outcome data were compared between these two groups. A review of all mortalities was performed, including recording the causes of death. RESULTS: Between 2005 and 2010, there were a total of 149 stab wound injuries, of which 24 (16.1%) were SI and 125 (83.9%) were IO injuries. Patients tended to be young (mean age 34.1 ± 14.2 years). The mean Injury Severity Score was significantly different between the SI and IO groups (8.8 ± 6.5 vs. 12.3 ± 8.1; p = 0.03). In both groups, the majority underwent an operative procedure (83.3% vs. 85.6%) and had an average hospital stay of four days. CONCLUSION: The study confirms our hypothesis that SI injuries tend to be less severe than IO injuries and are more likely to occur at home rather than at a public area. This finding may be useful in the triage of patients with stab wound injuries.

Combining the new injury severity score with an anatomical polytrauma injury variable predicts mortality better than the new injury severity score and the injury severity score: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Anatomy-based injury severity scores are commonly used with physiological scores for reporting severity of injury in a standardized manner. However, there is lack of consensus on choice of scoring system, with the commonly used injury severity score (ISS) performing poorly for certain sub-groups, eg head-injured patients. We hypothesized that adding a dichotomous variable for polytrauma (yes/no for Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores of 3 or more in at least two body regions) to the New Injury Severity Score (NISS) would improve the prediction of in-hospital mortality in injured patients, including head-injured patients-a subgroup that has a disproportionately high mortality. Our secondary hypothesis was that the ISS over-estimates the risk of death in polytrauma patients, while the NISS under-estimates it. METHODS: Univariate and multivariable analysis was performed on retrospective cohort data of blunt injured patients aged 18 and over with an ISS over 9 from the Singapore National Trauma Registry from 2011-2013. Model diagnostics were tested using discrimination (c-statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistic). All models included age, gender, and comorbidities. RESULTS: Our results showed that the polytrauma and NISS model outperformed the other models (polytrauma and ISS, NISS alone or ISS alone) in predicting 30-day and in-hospital mortality. The NISS underestimated the risk of death for patients with polytrauma, while the ISS overestimated the risk of death for these patients. When used together with the NISS and polytrauma, categorical variables for deranged physiology (systolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or less, GCS of 8 or less) outperformed the traditional 'ISS and RTS (Revised Trauma Score)' model, with a c-statistic of greater than 0.90. This could be useful in cases when the RTS cannot be scored due to missing respiratory rate. DISCUSSION: The NISS and polytrauma model is superior to current scores for prediction of 30-day and in-hospital mortality. We propose that this score replace the ISS or NISS in institutions using AIS-based scores. CONCLUSIONS: Adding polytrauma to the NISS or ISS improves prediction of 30-day mortality. The superiority of the NISS or ISS depends on the proportion of polytrauma and head-injured patients in the study population.

Adult rectosigmoid junction intussusception presenting with rectal prolapse.

Most cases of intussusception in adults present with chronic and nonspecific symptoms, and can sometimes be challenging to diagnose. We herein report on a patient with the rare symptom of colonic intussusceptions presenting with rectal prolapse and review the existing literature of similar case reports to discuss how to reach an accurate diagnosis. A 75-year-old woman with dementia presented with per rectal bleeding, rectal prolapse and lower abdominal pain. An operation was scheduled and a large sigmoid intussusception with a polyp as a leading point was found intraoperatively. She subsequently recovered well and was discharged. As large sigmoid intussusceptions may present as rectal prolapse, intussusception should be considered as a differential diagnosis for immobile patients, especially when the leading point is a lesion.

The Low Fall as a Surrogate Marker of Frailty Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Older Trauma Patients.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is associated with adverse outcomes including disability, mortality and risk of falls. Trauma registries capture a broad range of injuries. However, frail patients who fall comprise a large proportion of the injuries occurring in ageing populations and are likely to have different outcomes compared to non-frail injured patients. The effect of frail fallers on mortality is under-explored but potentially significant. Currently, many trauma registries define low falls as less than three metres, a height that is likely to include non-frailty falls. We hypothesized that the low fall from less than 0.5 metres, including same-level falls, is a surrogate marker of frailty and predicts long-term mortality in older trauma patients. METHODS: Using data from the Singapore National Trauma Registry, 2011-2013, matched till September 2014 to the death registry, we analysed adults aged over 45 admitted via the emergency department in public hospitals sustaining blunt injuries with an injury severity score (ISS) of 9 or more, excluding isolated hip fractures from same-level falls in the over 65. Patients injured by a low fall were compared to patients injured by high fall and other blunt mechanisms. Logistic regression was used to analyze 12-month mortality, controlling for mechanism of injury, ISS, revised trauma score (RTS), co-morbidities, gender, age and age-gender interaction. Different low fall height definitions, adjusting for injury regions, and analyzing the entire adult cohort were used in sensitivity analyses and did not change our findings. RESULTS: Of the 8111 adults in our cohort, patients who suffered low falls were more likely to die of causes unrelated to their injuries (p<0.001), compared to other blunt trauma and higher fall heights. They were at higher risk of 12-month mortality (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.18-2.58, p = 0.005), independent of ISS, RTS, age, gender, age-gender interaction and co-morbidities. Falls that were higher than 0.5m did not show this pattern. Males were at higher risk of mortality after low falls. The effect of age on mortality started at age 55 for males, and age 70 for females, and the difference was attributable to the additional mortality in male low-fallers. CONCLUSIONS: The low fall mechanism can optimize prediction of long-term mortality after moderate and severe injury, and may be a surrogate marker of frailty, complementing broader-based studies on aging.

Inguinal hernia repair: are the results from a general hospital comparable to those from dedicated hernia centres?

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to report the outcomes of inguinal hernia repair performed at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and compare them with those performed at dedicated hernia centres. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the medical records and telephone interviews of 520 patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair in 2010. RESULTS: The majority of the patients were male (498 [95.8%] men vs. 22 [4.2%] women). The mean age was 59.9 ± 15.7 years. Most patients (n = 445, 85.6%) had unilateral hernias (25.8% direct, 64.3% indirect, 9.9% pantaloon). The overall recurrence rate was 3.8%, with a mean time to recurrence of 12.0 ± 8.6 months. Risk factors for recurrence included contaminated wounds (odds ratio [OR] 50.325; p = 0.004), female gender (OR 8.757; p = 0.003) and pantaloon hernias (OR 5.059; p = 0.013). Complication rates were as follows: chronic pain syndrome (1.2%), hypoaesthesia (5.2%), wound dehiscence (0.4%), infection (0.6%), haematoma/seroma (4.8%), urinary retention (1.3%) and intraoperative visceral injury (0.6%). Most procedures were open repairs (67.7%), and laparoscopic repair constituted 32.3% of all the inguinal hernia repairs. Open repairs resulted in longer operating times than laparoscopic repairs (86.6 mins vs. 71.6 mins; p < 0.001), longer hospital stays (2.7 days vs. 0.7 days; p = 0.020) and a higher incidence of post-repair hypoaesthesia (6.8% vs. 1.8%; p = 0.018). However, there were no significant differences in recurrence or other complications between open and laparoscopic repair. CONCLUSION: A general hospital with strict protocols and teaching methodologies can achieve inguinal hernia repair outcomes comparable to those of dedicated hernia centres.

A 10-Year Profile of Trauma Admissions Caused by Interpersonal Violence: A Major Trauma Centre's Experience.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to characterise interpersonal violence victims admitted to a major trauma centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of interpersonal violence victims who were admitted to our centre from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 was conducted. Data were obtained from our trauma registry. RESULTS: Interpersonal violence victims constituted 444 (90.1% males and 9.9% females) out of a total of 8561 trauma admissions in the same time period. The average age was 36.6 years (range, 14 to 83 years). Majority were Chinese (53.4%) and Singaporeans (77.3%). The number of cases increased from 10 per year to 96 per year in the first 8 years, then decreased in the last 2 years (55 in year 2010). Time of injury was predominantly 0000 to 0559 hours (72.3%). Interpersonal violence mostly occurred in public spaces for both genders (88.7%). However, the number of females who were injured at home was significantly higher than males (P = 0.000). Blunt trauma (58.3%) was more common than penetrating trauma (41.7%). The average injury severity score (ISS) was 13.5 (range, 1 to 75); 34.9% of patients had major trauma (ISS >15). The average Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score was 13.5 (range, 3 to 15); 16.4% of patients had moderate-to-severe brain injury (GCS 3-8). Blunt trauma was significantly more likely to cause major trauma than penetrating trauma (P = 0.003). The sole case of firearm assault caused most morbi-mortality. Overall mortality was 4.5%. Major trauma (OR: 25.856; P = 0.002) and moderate-to-severe brain injury (OR: 7.495; P = 0.000) were independent risk factors of mortality. CONCLUSION: There has been no prior published data on interpersonal violence locally. This study is thus useful as preliminary data for future population-based studies. It also provides data for authorities to formulate preventive and intervention strategies.

Major workplace related accidents in Singapore: A major trauma centre's experience.

INTRODUCTION: Major workplace related accidents pose a significant healthcare resource challenge in Singapore. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study looks at the epidemiology of patients who were admitted for workplace related accidents, in a single institution, with an Injury Severity Score of >9. RESULTS: There were 196 cases of major workplace related accidents admitted between January 2006 and December 2007. The median age of patients admitted was 37 years with a large percentage being males (95.4%) and non-residents (57.1%). The most common ethnic group was Chinese (53.1%) followed by Indians (23.5%). The most common mechanism of injury was fall from height (66.3%) followed by injuries as a result of falling objects at work (21.9%). The percentage of patients who required surgical intervention was 69.9%. Patients admitted for major workplace related accidents had a median length of stay of 5 days in the hospital, a median length of 24 days of medical leave (ML), certifying them unfit for duty and the average cost of stay for each patient was S$11,000. CONCLUSIONS: We have a better understanding of the epidemiology and socio-economic impact of workplace related accidents through this study. Workplace related accidents result in significant number of man-days lost from work and monetary cost to employers, medical insurance and the hospital. With an improved understanding, we propose methods to prevent and reduce such accidents in future. A direct consequence of which will be the possible reduction of hospitalisation costs and better allocation of healthcare resources in the future.

Computed tomography has an important role in hollow viscus and mesenteric injuries after blunt abdominal trauma.

INTRODUCTION: Computed tomographic (CT) scans have become invaluable in the management of patients with blunt abdominal trauma. No clear consensus exists on its role in hollow viscus injuries (HVI) and mesenteric injuries (MI). The aim of this study was to correlate operative findings of HVI and MI to findings on pre-operative CT. METHODS: All patients treated for blunt abdominal trauma at Tan Tock Seng Hospital from January 2003 to January 2008 were reviewed. CT scans were only performed if the patients were haemodynamically stable and indicated. All scans were performed with intravenous contrast using a 4-slice CT scanner from 2003 to December 2004 and a 64-slice CT scanner from January 2005 onwards. All cases with documented HVI/MI that underwent both CT scans and exploratory laparotomy were analysed. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients formed the study group, with median age of 40 (range, 22-65) years and a significant male (83.9%) predominance. Vehicular-related incidents accounted for 67.7% of the injuries and the median Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 13 (4-50). The 2 commonest findings on CT scans were extra-luminal gas (35.5%) and free fluid without significant solid organ injuries (93.5%). During exploratory laparotomy, perforation of hollow viscus (51.6%) occurred more frequently than suspected from the initial CT findings of extra-luminal gas. Other notable findings included haemoperitoneum (64.5%), and mesenteric tears (67.7%). None of our patients with HVI and MI had a normal pre-operative CT scan. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that patients with surgically confirmed HVI and MI found at laparotomy were very likely to have an abnormal pre-operative CT scan. Unexplained free fluid was a very common finding in blunt HVI/MI and is one major indication to consider exploratory laparotomy.

Young adults and riding position: factors that affect mortality among inpatient adult motorcycle casualties: a major trauma center experience.

BACKGROUND: In Singapore, road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the second most common cause of deaths in trauma. Motorcycle casualties account for 54% of all fatalities. Studies have shown that the mean age of motorcycle casualties is significantly younger than that of other RTA victims. METHODS: We reviewed the mortality of all motorcycle casualties>or=16 years admitted to an acute hospital as emergencies from January 2004 to December 2006. To determine the impact of age on mortality, we divided our patients into two groups, one21 years (older group). A subset analysis based on riding position (driver versus passenger) was performed to determine the inpatient mortality rate in these two groups. RESULTS: There were 96 (14%) patients in the younger group and 586 (86%) patients in the older group. The mortality rate for younger motorcycle casualties was significantly higher (14.6% versus 8%; p=0.04). Also, there were significantly more passengers in the younger group (25% versus 8.4%; p=0.0001). The mortality rate among young passengers was significantly higher than that among young drivers (29.2% versus 9.7%; p=0.019). Likewise, the mortality rate of the young passengers was also significantly higher than that among older passengers (29.2% versus 10.2%; p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Young motorcycle casualties have a significantly higher mortality rate than older motorcycle casualties. Young passengers have the highest mortality rate and contribute significantly to the death rate among young motorcycle casualties.

Hepatic enzymes have a role in the diagnosis of hepatic injury after blunt abdominal trauma.

INTRODUCTION: Delayed diagnosis of patients with severe liver injuries is associated with an adverse outcome. As computed tomographic (CT) scan is not always available in the management of blunt abdominal trauma worldwide, the present study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of selected haematological markers in predicting the presence of hepatic injury and its severity after blunt abdominal trauma. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients with blunt abdominal trauma presented to our institution over a 3-year period was performed. Patients were excluded if they suffered penetrating injuries, died in the emergency department or if the required blood tests were not performed within 24h of the accident. The grading of the hepatic injury was verified using CT scans or surgical findings. RESULTS: Ninety-nine patients with blunt abdominal trauma had the required blood tests performed and were included in the study. The median injury severity score was 24 (range 4-75). Fifty-five patients had hepatic injuries, of which 47.3% were minor (Grades I and II) while 52.7% had major hepatic injuries (Grades III-V). There were no patients with Grade VI injuries. A raised ALT was strongly associated with presence of hepatic injuries (OR, 109.8; 95% CI, 25.81-466.9). This relation was also seen in patients with raised AST>2 times (OR, 21.33; 95% CI, 7.27-62.65). This difference was not seen in both bilirubin and ALP. ALT>2 times normal was associated with major hepatic injuries (OR, 7.15; 95% CI, 1.38-37.14; p=0.012) while patients with simultaneous raised AST>2 times and ALT>2 times had a stronger association for major hepatic injuries (OR, 8.44; 95% CI, 1.64-43.47). CONCLUSION: Abnormal transaminases levels are associated with hepatic injuries after blunt abdominal trauma. Patients with ALT and AST>2 times normal should be assumed to possess major hepatic trauma and managed accordingly. Patients with normal ALT, AST and LDH are unlikely to have major liver injuries.