The use of cryopreserved platelets in the treatment of polytraumatic patients and patients with massive bleeding.

BACKGROUND: The short shelf-life of fresh platelets limits their efficient inventory management and availability during a massive transfusion protocol. Risk of insufficient availability can be mitigated by building an inventory of cryopreserved platelets (CPs). METHODS: A comparative study of fresh apheresis platelets (FAPs) and CPs was performed. Type-O CPs were processed with DMSO frozen at -80°C and reconstituted in thawed AB plasma. All patients enrolled in the study had the following parameters evaluated on admission: vital signs (body temperature, heart rate, mean arterial pressure), blood count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen level, and, in trauma patients, international severity score. Several outcomes were evaluated: 30-day survival, adverse events, quantity of administered blood products, fibrinogen concentrate and thromboxane (TXA), and laboratory parameters after transfusion (blood count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen level). RESULTS: Twenty-five (25) patients in the study group received transfusions totaling 81 units of CPs. Twenty-one (21) patients in the control group received a total of 67 units of FAPs. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics (p > 0.05) between groups. Both groups were comparable in clinical outcomes (30-day survival, administered blood products, fibrinogen concentrate, TXA, and adverse events). Among posttransfusion laboratory parameters, platelet count was higher in the group transfused with FAPs (97.0 ×109 /L) than in the group transfused with CPs (41.5 ×109 /L), p = 0.02025. Other parameters were comparable in both groups. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that CPs are tolerable and a feasible alternative to FAPs. However, larger randomized studies are needed to draw definitive conclusions.

Bilateral scapular fractures in adults.

PURPOSE: Bilateral scapular fracture is a very rare injury. Most of these fractures result from electrical shock or epileptic seizure. We treated six patients with such injuries, all of them caused by direct violence. The aim of this study was to report on the patients and to present an overview of the cases published so far. METHODS: Between January 2011 and August 2012, we treated six patients with bilateral scapular fractures (four men and two women, age range 20-78 years). Another 11 cases were found in the literature. All cases were analysed in terms of injury mechanism, fracture pattern and the manner of diagnosis. RESULTS: Our six patients increased the total number of recorded cases to 17 and the number of patients with traumatic bilateral scapular fractures from four to ten. In five of our cases, the injuries were classified as being the result of high-energy trauma. Computed tomography (CT) examination of the affected scapulae was performed in all six cases, in five in combination with 3D CT reconstruction; in one polytraumatised female patient, only axial CT scans were obtained. In all five high-energy trauma cases, bilateral fracture of the scapular body was recorded, of which one was classified as open. Four of the 11 cases found in the literature were caused by direct violence: in six patients, the fractures resulted from muscle spasms associated with epileptiform seizure or electrical shock, and one patient suffered a pathological fracture associated with amyloidosis. The most frequently recorded fracture in all 17 patients (34 fractures) was of the scapular body, i.e. 24 fractures, followed by 12 fractures of the glenoid fossa. CONCLUSION: According to data in the literature, bilateral scapular fracture is a rare injury. One reason may be that the potential incidence is often neglected. With the increasing number of patients with polytrauma, the potential for scapular fracture should always be taken into account, together with the fact that this injury may be bilateral. Of vital importance in diagnosing these injuries is CT scanning, including 3D CT reconstructions.

Liver trauma usually means management of multiple injuries: analysis of 78 patients.

The liver is the second most traumatized organ in the abdominal cavity. The authors present a retrospective analysis of a group of 78 patients treated for this injury at one institution. In this group, there were 5 (6.41%) penetrating and 73 (93.59%) blunt trauma injuries. The mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) of the group was 31.6. Isolated liver trauma occurred in only three (3.84%) cases. At the same time, chest injury occurred in 89.84%, head injury occurred in 74.64%, limb injury occurred in 32.05%, and spinal or pelvic injury occurred in 26.92% of patients. Trauma to other intra-abdominal organs was found in 82.97% of patients, and surgical intervention was necessary in 51.06%. The routine use of helical computed tomography with contrast showed a sensitivity of 88.76% and 95.50%, respectively. Liver bleeding resulted in three (3.84%) patient deaths. Overall mortality was 29.48%. The mean period of hospitalization on the intensive care unit was 27.42 days. At present, liver trauma cannot be separated from multiple injuries; morbidity and mortality depend more on the affiliated trauma than on specific liver injury.