Where Do We Stand on Cervical Spine Immobilisation? A Questionnaire among Prehospital Staff.

Background: Cervical collars (CC) are routinely used in prehospital trauma treatment. However, over the past years, their application was discussed more critically since they increase intravenous pressure due to reduced venous drainage and the possibility of secondary cervical spine injury. Guidelines have been adjusted accordingly. The question is how efficient has this been put into practice, and how good, as well as up to date, is the knowledge of prehospital emergency medicine personnel about indications on cervical spine immobilisation? Methods: A 15-item questionnaire regarding the self-evaluation and result checking of the right indications for the use of a cervical collar in the prehospital setting was sent to paramedics and emergency doctors in Germany. Two hundred and nineteen completed surveys were statistically analysed. Results: Mean age of the participants was 30.45 ± 8.8. 72% were male. Regarding subjective safety, the appropriate indication of CC participants reached 79.8 ± 19.5 on a metric scale from 0 (no safety) to 100 (full safety). Mean right answers were as follows: Ambulance man (RS) 0.78 ± 0.84, paramedic (RA) 0.9 ± 0.74, paramedic (NFS) 1.03 ± 0.83 and emergency doctor (ED) 1.75 ± 1.06 (p = 0.013, Kruskal-Wallis Test). Participants who estimated their knowledge < 85% had 0.83 ± 0.8 right answers, and > 85% had 1.14 ± 0.9 right answers. Conclusions: Rational spine immobilisation is still necessary in severely injured patients. This study highlights the importance of continuing education using ongoing training, lectures or online learning with a questionnaire as a monitor for success to ensure the transfer of evidence-based medicine into daily practice.

Do admission glucose levels independently predict coagulopathy in multiple trauma patients? A retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Coagulopathy is prevalent in multiple trauma patients and worsens bleeding complications, leading to higher morbidity and mortality rates. Hyperglycemia upon admission predicts hemorrhagic shock and mortality in severely injured patients. This study aimed to assess admission glucose levels as an independent prognostic factor for coagulopathy in multiply injured patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study observed multiple trauma patients treated at a level I trauma center between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2020. Coagulopathy was defined as an international normalized ratio (INR) > 1.4 and/or activated thromboplastin time (APTT) > 40 s. Analysis of variance compared clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with and without coagulopathy. Receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified risk factors associated with coagulopathy. RESULTS: The study included 913 patients, of whom 188 (20%) had coagulopathy at admission. Coagulopathy patients had higher mortality than those without (26% vs. 5.0%, p < 0.001). Mean glucose level in coagulopathy patients was 10.09 mmol/L, significantly higher than 7.97 mmol/L in non-coagulopathy patients (p < 0.001). Admission glucose showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.64 (95% CI [0.59-0.69], p < 0.001) with an optimal cut-off point of 12.35 mmol/L. After adjusting for other factors, patients with high admission glucose had a 1.99-fold risk of developing coagulopathy (95% CI 1.07-3.60). Other laboratory parameters associated with coagulopathy included haemoglobin, bicarbonate (HCO3), and lactate levels. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the significance of admission blood glucose as an independent predictor of coagulopathy. Monitoring hyperglycemia can aid in identifying high-risk patients.

Posterior acetabular wall morphology is an independent risk factor that affects the occurrence of acetabular wall fracture in patients with traumatic, posterior hip dislocation.

PURPOSE: Smaller posterior acetabular walls have been shown to independently influence the risk for bipolar hip dislocation. We asked whether differences would also be observed in patients with traumatic posterior hip dislocation with and without posterior wall fractures. METHODS: Between 2012 and 2020 we observed 67 traumatic posterior hip dislocations. Of these, 43 traumatic posterior hip dislocations in 41 patients met the inclusion criteria. Eighteen dislocations were excluded with an acetabular fracture other than posterior wall fracture and six dislocations had insufficient computed tomography (CT) data. The mean age was 41 ± 11 years, 32 males and nine females. We observed 26 traumatic hip dislocations with posterior wall fractures and 17 without. All patients underwent polytrauma CT scans and postoperative/postinterventional pelvic CT scans. On axial CT-scans, posterior wall determining angles were measured. RESULTS: Patients with posterior wall fractures were not significantly older than patients without posterior wall fractures (42 ± 12 vs. 38 ± 10 years; p = 0.17). Patients without posterior wall fractures had significantly smaller posterior acetabular sector angles (84° ± 10°) than did patients with posterior wall fractures (105° ± 12°) (p < 0.01; OR 1.178). Likewise, the posterior wall angle was significantly smaller in patients without posterior wall fracture (62° ± 9°) than in those with posterior wall fractures (71° ± 8°) (p < 0.01; OR 1.141). CONCLUSION: Both posterior acetabular sector angle and posterior wall angle are independent factors determining the posterior wall fracture morphology in patients with traumatic posterior hip dislocation. Age and the observed trauma mechanism did not differentiate between traumatic posterior hip dislocations with and without posterior wall fractures.

Cytological Effects of Serum Isolated from Polytraumatized Patients on Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Due to their immunomodulatory and regenerative capacity, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) are promising in the treatment of patients suffering from polytrauma. However, few studies look at the effects of sera from polytraumatized patients on hBMSCs. The aim of this study was to explore changes in hBMSC properties in response to serum from polytrauma patients taken at different time points after the trauma incident. For this, sera from 84 patients with polytrauma (collected between 2010 and 2020 in our department) were used. In order to test the differential influence on hBMSC, sera from the 1st (D1), 5th (D5), and 10th day (D10) after polytrauma were pooled, respectively. As a control, sera from three healthy donors (HS), matched with respect to age and gender to the polytrauma group, were collected. Furthermore, hBMSCs from four healthy donors were used in the experiments. The pooled sera of HS, D1, D5, and D10 were analyzed by multicytokine array for pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, the influence of the different sera on hBMSCs with respect to cell proliferation, colony forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) assay, cell viability, cytotoxicity, cell migration, and osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was analyzed. The results showed that D5 serum significantly reduced hBMSC cell proliferation capacity compared with HS and increased the proportion of dead cells compared with D1. However, the frequency of CFU-F was not reduced in polytrauma groups compared with HS, as well as the other parameters. The serological effect of polytrauma on hBMSCs was related to the time after trauma. It is disadvantageous to use BMSCs in polytraumatized patients at least until the fifth day after polytrauma as obvious cytological changes could be found at that time point. However, it is promising to use hBMSCs to treat polytrauma after five days, combined with the concept of "Damage Control Orthopedics" (DCO).

The impact of lifestyle on forearm fractures in children: A retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Forearm fractures are frequent in children. It is important to identify predisposing factors for increased fracture risk. This retrospective analysis aimed to investigate the correlation between forearm fractures in children and co-factors such as age, TV consumption, consumption of soft drinks, the kind of soft drinks consumed as well as physical activity in daily life and BMI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort analysis compared 355 participants at the age of 4 to 12 between 2017 and 2018 with and without forearm fractures in children. It was based on a questionnaire to assess the above-mentioned cofactors regarding behavior and lifestyles choices and aimed to identify whether or not these lead to an increased risk of forearm fractures. For statistical analysis logistic regression was used. RESULTS: Logistic regression showed a significant effect on forearm fractures in children for the variables age (Odds ratio 3.3 [95% confidence interval 1.5-7.3], P = .003), TV consumption (Odds ratio 5.4 [95% confidence interval 2.5-22.6], P < .001), consumption of soft drinks (Odds ratio 2.6 [95% confidence interval 1.2-5.6], P = .013), and the kind of soft drinks consumed (Odds ratio 3.1 [95% confidence interval 1.5-6.3], P = .003), [Nagelkerkes-R2 = 0.458; Chi2 = 85.037; df = 6]) with a strong effect according to Cohen (f2 = 0.84). CONCLUSION: The study showed a significant correlation between TV and soft drink consumption and increased risk for forearm fractures in children. TV consumption and consumption of soft drinks should be reduced in children to prevent forearm fractures.

Lung Transplantation following Emergency Pneumonectomy in a Polytraumatized 18-Year-Old.

Introduction. On rare occasions, a pneumonectomy needs to be performed after a severe polytrauma. Statistically, this procedure increases the mortality rate to 50%. One option to reduce this high rate could be an organ transplantation if a matching organ can be found. However, the current literature lacks any documentation of such a case. One reason for this stems from the fact that regulations for organ transplantation are very restricted and rarely allow exceptions. In addition, the chance for survival of polytraumatized patients in need of organs in the acute phase of the therapy is often quite unsure. Case Presentation. In this paper, we present the case of an 18-year-old patient who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. His injury severity score was 29, but he suffered from severe bleeding in his lung which made a pneumonectomy necessary. The procedure led to a severe deterioration of his overall condition. An ECMO therapy was initiated, which effectively only slowed the aggravation. Therefore, he was transferred to our clinic where he was stabilized temporarily. A few days later, his situation turned worse. Since he had no other chance of survival, he was scheduled for a lung transplantation and was assigned an organ. After the transplantation, he stabilized quickly and recovered almost completely. Discussion. In this report, we want to show that an exception to the rules for organ transplantation might make sense on rare occasions. However, to increase the chance for any success, patients must be transferred to highly specialized clinics capable of treating patients with severe conditions. This might be the only chance for those patients to survive.

Screw fixation for syndesmotic injury is stronger and provides more contact area of the joint surface than TightRope®: A biomechanical study.

BACKGROUND: The rupture of syndesmotic ligaments is treated with a screw fixation as the gold standard. An alternative is the stabilization with a TightRope®. A couple of studies investigated the different clinical outcome and some even looked at the stability in the joint, but none of them examined the occurring pressure after fixation. OBJECTIVE: Is there a difference in pressure inside the distal tibiofibular joint between a screw fixation and a TightRope®? Does the contact area differ in these two treatment options? METHODS: This biomechanical study aimed to investigate the differences in fixation of the injured syndesmotic ligaments by using a fixation with one quadricortical screw versus singular TightRope® both implanted 1 cm above the joint. By using 12 adult lower leg cadaveric specimens and pressure recording sensor, we recorded the pressure across the distal tibiofibular joint. Additionally we measured the contact surface area across the joint. RESULTS: The mean of the pressure across the distal tibiofibular joint from the start of the insertion of the fixation device to the complete fixation was 0.05 Pascal for the TightRope® and 0.1 for the screw (P= 0.016). The mean of the maximum pressure across the joint (after completion of fixation and releasing the reduction clamp) was 1.750 mega Pascal with the screw fixation and 0.540 mega Pascal with TightRope® (P= 0.008). The mean of the measured contact area of the distal tibiofibular joint after fixation was 250 mm2 in the TightRope® group and of 355 mm2 in the screw fixation (P= 0.123). CONCLUSIONS: The screw fixation is stronger and provides a larger surface contact area, which leads us to the conclusion that it provides a better stability in the joint. While previous clinical studies did not show significant clinical difference between the two methods of fixation, the biomechanical construct varied. Long term clinical studies are required to establish whether this biomechanical distinction will contribute to various clinical outcomes.

The GEF Cytohesin-2/ARNO Mediates Resistin induced Phenotypic Switching in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

The pro-inflammatory adipokine resistin induces a phenotypic switch of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), a process decisive for atherosclerosis, including morphological changes, increased synthetic activity, proliferation and migration. The guanine-exchange factor ARNO (Cytohesin-2) has been shown to be important for morphological changes and migration of other cell types. In this study we dissected the role of ARNO in resistin induced VSMC phenotypic switching and signalling. Firstly, treatment with the cytohesin inhibitor Secin H3 prevented the resistin mediated induction of morphological changes in VSMC. Secondly, Secin H3 treatment as well as expression of an inactive ARNO (EK) reduced resistin induced VSMC synthetic activity, as assessed by matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) expression, as well as the migration into a wound in vitro compared to ARNO WT expression. Thirdly, we found ARNO to influence MMP-2 expression and migration via activation of p38 MAPK and the JNK/AP-1 pathway. Interestingly, these processes were shown to be dependent on the binding of PIP3, as mutation of the ARNO PH-domain inhibited VSMC migration, MMP-2 expression as well as p38 MAPK and JNK signalling. Thus, we demonstrate that ARNO is an important link in resistin dependent cell signalling leading to morphological changes, MMP-2 production and migration of VSMC.