Needle Decompression Causing Pericardial and Pulmonary Artery Injuries in Patients With Blunt Trauma: Two Case Reports and Literature Review.

Tension pneumothorax (TPX) is a severe chest complication of blunt or penetrating trauma. Immediate decompression is the lifesaving action in patients with TPX. Needle decompression (ND) is frequently used for this purpose, particularly in limited resources setting such as the prehospital arena. Despite the safe profile, the blind nature of the procedure can result in a serious range of complications, including injury to the vital intrathoracic structures such as the lungs, great vessels, and heart. Here, we reported 2 cases of blunt chest trauma resulting in TPX demanding immediate ND; however, nonintentional pericardial and pulmonary artery injuries occurred. The first case was a 42-year-old man with a needle-related pulmonary artery injury that required surgery. The second case was a 19-year-old man in whom a needle-related pneumopericardium occurred and was treated conservatively. In both cases, trained personnel performed the ND. Although ND in the field is a lifesaving intervention, it may further complicate the patient condition. Therefore, it should be performed in adherence to the universal guidelines.

Traumatic injuries associated with suicide attempts: A retrospective study from single national level 1 trauma center.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a complex phenomenon involving several risk factors. We aimed to describe the frequency, pattern, and outcomes of patients with traumatic injuries following suicide attempts admitted to a level 1 trauma center. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data obtained from Qatar National Trauma Registry and mortuary database. The study included all patients with traumatic injuries following suicide attempts, admitted to the Hamad Trauma Center (HTC) from April 2008 to March 2018. RESULTS: During this 10-year period, 206 patients were admitted to the HTC for injuries associated with suicide attempts. The majority were males (76%), young age (mean age 31 years), and expatriates specifically from South Asia (55%). The most common injury was due to self-inflicted cutting and piercing (51%) followed by jumping from height (30%). Females chose jumping from high place more often as a method of suicide attempt (59% vs. 20%), while males chose self-stabbing or cutting their throat (59% vs. 25%) (P = 0.001). Most of the patients had head injuries (30%) that was severe in terms of abbreviated injury scale score (3.6 ± 0.9). More than half (54%) of the patients required psychiatric consultations. The in-hospital mortality was 8% which was comparable in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that 1.8% of trauma admissions at HTC were related to suicidal attempts. Better understanding of risk factors is important in devising preventive strategies.

Utility of extended FAST in blunt chest trauma: is it the time to be used in the ATLS algorithm?

INTRODUCTION: The clinical significance of extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (EFAST) for diagnosis of pneumothorax is not well defined. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the utility of EFAST in blunt chest trauma (BCT) patients. STUDY DESIGN: A single blinded, prospective study. PARTICIPANTS: All patients admitted with BCT (2011-2013). SETTINGS: Level 1 trauma center in Qatar. PROCEDURES AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients were screened by EFAST and results were compared to the clinical examination (CE) and chest X-ray (CXR). Chest-computed tomography (CT) scoring system was used to confirm and measure the pneumothorax. Diagnostic accuracy of diagnostic modalities of pneumothorax was measured using sensitivity, specificity, predictive values (PVs), and likelihood ratio. RESULTS: A total of 305 BCT patients were included with median age of 34 (18-75). Chest CT was positive for pneumothorax in 75 (24.6 %) cases; of which 11 % had bilateral pneumothorax. Chest CT confirmed the diagnosis of pneumothorax in 43, 41, and 11 % of those who were initially diagnosed by EFAST, CE, and CXR, respectively. EFAST was positive in 42 hemithoraces and its sensitivity (43 %) was higher in comparison to CXR (11 %). Positive and negative PVs of EFAST were 76 and 92 %, respectively. The frequency of missed cases by CXR was higher in comparison to EFAST and CE. The lowest median score of missed pneumothorax was observed by EFAST. CONCLUSION: EFAST can be used as an efficient triaging tool in BCT patients to rule out pneumothorax. Based on our analysis, we would recommend EFAST as an adjunct in ATLS algorithm.