Management of Head and Neck Injuries by the Sideline Physician.

Although rare, sport-related injuries to the head and neck can be life threatening; therefore, timely and appropriate treatment is critical. Preparation is key for the sideline physician and begins well before arriving on the sideline. Knowing the athletic trainer and support staff, establishing a chain of command and emergency action plan, and having all the appropriate equipment readily available are important for game or practice preparedness. At the athletic event, physicians should have a clear line of sight to the field of play and easy access to reach the field when necessary. When performing an on-field assessment of any athlete who is not moving, whether conscious, unconscious, or with decreased consciousness, head and neck injury must be assumed, and the injured athlete should be placed on a spine board with cervical spine stabilization and transported to the emergency department for further evaluation. Generally, helmets and pads are left on while the injured athlete is being transported. Concussion is among the most common head and neck injuries in athletes, and if concussion is suspected, the athlete cannot return to the game on the same day. Nasal fractures do not always require immediate closed reduction; however, orbital, maxillary, or mandibular fractures require transport to the emergency department. For tooth avulsion, time is important; reimplantation should be attempted within 30 minutes of injury.

Medical Clearance for Desert and Land Sports, Adventure, and Endurance Events.

Endurance events are increasing in popularity in wilderness and remote settings, and participants face a unique set of potential risks for participation. The purpose of this article is to outline these risks and allow the practitioner to better guide the wilderness adventurer who is anticipating traveling to a remote or desert environment.

Medical Clearance for Desert and Land Sports, Adventure, and Endurance Events.

Endurance events are increasing in popularity in wilderness and remote settings, and participants face a unique set of potential risks for participation. The purpose of this article is to outline these risks and allow the practitioner to better guide the wilderness adventurer who is anticipating traveling to a remote or desert environment.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: diagnosis and management.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most common form of scoliosis, affecting approximately 2% to 4% of adolescents. The incidence of scoliosis is about the same in males and females; however, females have up to a 10-fold greater risk of curve progression. Although most youths with scoliosis will not develop clinical symptoms, scoliosis can progress to rib deformity and respiratory compromise, and can cause significant cosmetic problems and emotional distress for some patients. For decades, scoliosis screenings were a routine part of school physical examinations in adolescents. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and American Academy of Family Physicians recommend against routine scoliosis screening in asymptomatic adolescents, concluding that harm from screening outweighs the benefit because screenings expose many low-risk adolescents to unnecessary radiographs and referrals. In contrast, the Scoliosis Research Society, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America suggest that the potential benefit of detecting scoliosis early justifies screening programs, but greater care should be used in deciding which patients with positive screening results need further evaluation. The goal for primary care physicians is to identify patients who are at risk of developing problems from scoliosis, without overtesting or overreferring patients who are unlikely to have further problems. Physical examination with the Adam's forward bend test and a scoliometer measurement can guide judicious use of radiologic testing for Cobb angle measurement and orthopedic referrals. Treatment options include observation, braces, and surgery.

Sick sinus syndrome: a review.

Sick sinus syndrome refers to a collection of disorders marked by the heart's inability to perform its pacemaking function. Predominantly affecting older adults, sick sinus syndrome comprises various arrhythmias, including bradyarrhythmias with or without accompanying tachyarrhythmias. At least 50 percent of patients with sick sinus syndrome develop alternating bradycardia and tachycardia, also known as tachy-brady syndrome. Sick sinus syndrome results from intrinsic causes, or may be exacerbated or mimicked by extrinsic factors. Intrinsic causes include degenerative fibrosis, ion channel dysfunction, and remodeling of the sinoatrial node. Extrinsic factors can be pharmacologic, metabolic, or autonomic. Signs and symptoms are often subtle early on and become more obvious as the disease progresses. They are commonly related to end-organ hypoperfusion. Cerebral hypoperfusion is most common, with syncope or near-fainting occurring in about one-half of patients. Diagnosis may be challenging, and is ultimately made by electrocardiographic identification of the arrhythmia in conjunction with the presence of symptoms. If electrocardiography does not yield a diagnosis, inpatient telemetry monitoring, outpatient Holter monitoring, event monitoring, or loop monitoring may be used. Electrophysiologic studies also may be used but are not routinely needed. Treatment of sick sinus syndrome includes removing extrinsic factors, when possible, and pacemaker placement. Pacemakers do not reduce mortality, but they can decrease symptoms and improve quality of life.

Warm, beating heart aortic valve replacement in a sickle cell patient.

Patients with sickle cell abnormalities undergoing surgery are generally considered to be at greater risk for perioperative complications. We present a 25-year-old woman with sickle cell disease (SCD) and severe aortic insufficiency. A minimally invasive, warm, beating heart approach was adopted to try and minimize the risk of sickling due to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), low-flow states, cold cardioplegia and aortic cross-clamping. Compared to classical methods, we believe our technique further reduces the risk of systemic and organ hypothermia and thus, sickling.

Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting: dual-center experience in 450 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (MICS CABG) is a novel coronary operation that does not require infrastructure and is potentially available to all cardiac surgeons. It aims at decreasing the invasiveness of conventional CABG while preserving the applicability and durability of surgical revascularization. We examined the feasibility and safety of MICS CABG in the first large series of this operation to date. METHODS AND RESULTS: All myocardial territories are accessed via a 4- to 6-cm left fifth intercostal thoracotomy. An apical positioner and epicardial stabilizer are introduced into the chest through the subxyphoid and left seventh intercostal spaces, respectively. The left internal thoracic artery is used to graft the left anterior descending artery, and radial artery or saphenous vein segments are used to graft the lateral and inferior myocardial territories. Proximal anastomoses are performed directly onto the aorta or from the left internal thoracic artery as a T-graft. In the first 450 consecutive MICS CABG procedures at our 2 centers, mean+/-SD age was 62.3+/-10.7 years and 123 patients were female (27%). The average number of grafts was 2.1+/-0.7, with complete revascularization in 95% of patients. There were 34 patients in whom cardiopulmonary bypass was used (7.6%), 17 conversions to sternotomy (3.8%), and 10 reinterventions for bleeding (2.2%). Perioperative mortality occurred in 6 patients (1.3%). CONCLUSIONS: MICS CABG is feasible and has excellent procedural and short-term outcomes. This operation could potentially make multivessel minimally invasive coronary surgery safe, effective, and more widely available.

Clinical factors associated with outcome in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma treated with vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted therapy.

BACKGROUND: Therapy targeted against the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway is a standard of care for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The identification of patients who are more likely to benefit from these agents is warranted. METHODS: In total, 120 patients with metastatic clear-cell RCC received bevacizumab, sorafenib, sunitinib, or axitinib on 1 of 9 prospective clinical trials at the Cleveland Clinic. Clinical features associated with outcome were identified by univariate analysis; then, a stepwise modeling approach based on Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent prognostic factors and to form a model for progression-free survival (PFS). A bootstrap algorithm was used to provide internal validation. RESULTS: The overall median PFS was 13.8 months, and the objective response according to the Response Criteria in Solid Tumors was 34%. Multivariate analysis identified time from diagnosis to current treatment <2 years; baseline platelet and neutrophil counts >300 K/microL and >4.5 K/microL, respectively; baseline corrected serum calcium <8.5 mg/dL or >10 mg/dL; and initial Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status >0 as independent, adverse prognostic factors (PF) for PFS. Three prognostic subgroups were formed based on the number of adverse prognostic factors present. The median PFS in patients with 0 or 1 adverse prognostic factor was 20.1 months compared with 13 months in patients with 2 adverse prognostic factors and 3.9 months in patients with >2 adverse prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: Five independent prognostic factors for predicting PFS were identified and were used to categorize patients with metastatic RCC who received VEGF-targeted therapies into 3 risk groups. These prognostic factors can be incorporated into patient care and clinical trials that use such novel, VEGF-targeted agents.