Medical pre-hospital management reduces mortality in severe blunt trauma: a prospective epidemiological study.

INTRODUCTION: Severe blunt trauma is a leading cause of premature death and handicap. However, the benefit for the patient of pre-hospital management by emergency physicians remains controversial because it may delay admission to hospital. This study aimed to compare the impact of medical pre-hospital management performed by SMUR (Service Mobile d'Urgences et de Réanimation) with non-medical pre-hospital management provided by fire brigades (non-SMUR) on 30-day mortality. METHODS: The FIRST (French Intensive care Recorded in Severe Trauma) study is a multicenter cohort study on consecutive patients with severe blunt trauma requiring admission to university hospital intensive care units within the first 72 hours. Initial clinical status, pre-hospital life-sustaining treatments and Injury Severity Scores (ISS) were recorded. The main endpoint was 30-day mortality. RESULTS: Among 2,703 patients, 2,513 received medical pre-hospital management from SMUR, and 190 received basic pre-hospital management provided by fire brigades. SMUR patients presented a poorer initial clinical status and higher ISS and were admitted to hospital after a longer delay than non-SMUR patients. The crude 30-day mortality rate was comparable for SMUR and non-SMUR patients (17% and 15% respectively; P = 0.61). After adjustment for initial clinical status and ISS, SMUR care significantly reduced the risk of 30-day mortality (odds ratio (OR): 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32 to 0.94, P = 0.03). Further adjustments for the delay to hospital admission only marginally affected these results. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that SMUR management is associated with a significant reduction in 30-day mortality. The role of careful medical assessment and intensive pre-hospital life-sustaining treatments needs to be assessed in further studies.

Laryngoscope plastic blades in scheduled general anesthesia patients: a comparative randomized study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare two brands of disposable plastic laryngoscope blades, Vital View plastic blades and Heine XP plastic blades, with the reusable Heine Classic+ Macintosh metal blades. DESIGN: Prospective randomized, controlled, single-blinded study. SETTING: Operating room of a university-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: 519 patients without criteria for predicted difficult intubation, undergoing scheduled surgery during general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to three groups according to laryngoscope blade brand. MEASUREMENTS: Difficult tracheal intubation was evaluated by the Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS) (IDS > 5 = procedure involving moderate to major difficulty). MAIN RESULTS: The percentage of intubations with an IDS > 5 was 3.1% in Group M (metal blade group), 5.1% in Group V (Vital View plastic blade group), and 10.0% in Group H (Heine plastic blade group). A significant difference was noted between Groups M and H (P = 0.02) but not between Groups M and V. CONCLUSIONS: Intubation may be more challenging when using Heine XP plastic blades but no significant difference exists between Vital-View plastic blades and Heine Classic+ metal blades.

A tamponade leading to death after radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

A case of hemorrhagic cardiac tamponade after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) leading to death is presented. The complication occurred during a procedure performed under general anesthesia with an expandable needle system for a 2-cm HCC sited in the second segment of the liver close to the diaphragm. Thermal damage to the organs surrounding the liver are major complications of liver tumor RFA. For lesions that are adjacent to the cardiac cavities, a discussion of better therapeutic options remains necessary and has to take into account the effectiveness and complication rate of each technique.