Impact of Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Use on Outcomes in Blunt Chest Injury.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of prehospital antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant (APAC) use on treatment and outcomes in patients with severe blunt chest injury. Patients with three or more rib fractures and a hospital length of stay (LOS) > three days admitted from 2014 to 2015 were included. Demographics, mortality, complications, injuries, hospital and ICU LOS, use of blood products, and thoracostomy were studied. Of 383 patients, 27.4 per cent were on APAC medication. Patients on APAC were older (P < 0.0001), had higher Glasgow Coma Score (P < 0.0001), and had lower Injury Severity Score (P < 0.0001) and total number of fractures (P = 0.0013) than the non-APAC group. APAC was not a predictor of mortality with or without age adjustment. In multiple linear regressions, APAC did not predict an increased LOS. APAC patients did not demonstrate an increase in admission diagnosis or complication of hemothorax, blood transfusions, tube thoracostomy, tracheostomy, LOS, or mortality rates. Similar findings are present in the subgroup of patients studied with high kinetic energy mechanism of injury. Our study does not support the perceived morbidity of APAC therapy in patients with severe blunt chest injury.

The Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Treatment of Rib Fractures.

Background Rib fracture is the most common result of thoracic traumas. Intrapulmonary shunt, alveolar capillary membrane damage, intra-alveolar hemorrhage, and hypoxia may develop following rib fractures. Therefore, prompt treatment is important. The aim of this experimental study was to analyze the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on rib fractures to secure a speedier and more efficient treatment method. Materials and Methods The study involved 18 New Zealand white rabbits, randomly divided into three groups as Group 1, the sham group with no surgical intervention; Group 2, the control group in which simple rib fractures were applied and no treatment; and Group 3, in which rib fractures were applied and then PRP treatment was administered. Results The mean recovery plate thickness measurements were found to be statistically significantly higher in the PRP group compared with the other groups (p < 0.005). A thicker fibrotic cell proliferation and the formation of many capillaries were observed around the growth plate in the PRP group compared with the other groups. These structures were lesser in the control group compared with the PRP group and at the lowest level in the sham group. Larger and distinct callus formation was observed and a new intramedullary field in the PRP group. Conclusions PRP is a reliable and effective autologous product with minimal side effects, which can be considered as an alternative treatment in patients with rib fractures and used easily in pseudoarthrosis, surgical fracture, or flail chest.

Investigation of surfactant protein-D and interleukin-6 levels in patients with blunt chest trauma with multiple rib fractures and pulmonary contusions: a cross-sectional study in Black Sea Region of Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Multiple rib fractures (RFs) and pulmonary contusions (PCs), with resulting systemic lung inflammation, are the most common injuries caused by blunt chest trauma (BCT) in motor vehicle accidents. This study examined levels of the inflammation marker interleukin (IL)-6 and those of the acute-phase reactant surfactant protein (SP)-D in patients with BCT. DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional, observational study. SETTING: Single-centre, tertiary care hospital in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 60 patients with BCT who were hospitalised in our thoracic surgery department. PARAMETERS MEASURES: The SP-D and IL-6 serum levels of patients with RFs (two or more RFs) (n=30) and patients with PCs (n=30) were measured after 6 hours, 24 hours and 7 days, and compared with those of age-matched and gender-matched healthy participants. RESULTS: The 6-hour serum SP-D levels of the RFs (p=0.017) and PCs (p<0.001) groups were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls. The 24-hour and 7-day SP-D levels of both groups were also higher than the control group. The serum IL-6 levels of both groups were significantly higher than those of the control group. We have found Injury Severity Score to be independently related to 6-hour IL-6 (ß=1.414, p<0.001) and 24-hour IL-6 levels (ß=1.067, p<0.001). The development of complications was independently related to 6-hour SP-D level (ß=0.211, p=0.047). CONCLUSIONS: RFs and PCs after BCT lead to local and systemic inflammation due to lung injury. The levels of the systemic inflammation marker IL-6 and those of the acute-phase reactant SP-D were elevated in the present study. The SP-D level may be used as a marker in the follow-up of BCT-related complications.

A Firm and Painful Plaque on the Thorax: The Role of Ultrasound in the Detection of Foreign Bodies.

The presence of a subcutaneous foreign body may not be easily suspected after the initial history and exploration of the patient. The authors report a 54-year-old male who came to the Department of Dermatology, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain with a firm plaque, fixed to deep structures, which showed several draining orifices over the costal grid. After several tests, the authors performed an ultrasonography that revealed the presence of a fistula from a foreign body secondary to a previously untreated costal fracture that occurred several years before. The authors believe ultrasonography is a readily available and useful tool that may help dermatologists in daily clinical practice, with the advantage of being a noninvasive test.

[Disorders of respiratory function in rib fractures]. / Poremecaj respiratorne funkcije kod preloma rebara.

In the one-year prospective study 71 injured patients were observed (75% male and 25% female). Traffic traumatism was the dominant case (45%). The wounded are divided in the groups with one side fracture of ribs (left/right) and on both sides fracture of ribs considering the side of fracture, and there is consideration about the kind of fracture--there are single fracture of ribs and serial fracture of ribs. The samples of artery blood were followed in PaCO2, %SaO2 and level pH in three points of time: when the patients came, after 24 and after 48 hours. In the group with the both side fracture of the ribs, the fall of worth pH was observed after 48 hours, PaCO2 is increasing to the 6.98 kPa. PaO2 is falling after 48 hours. In %SaO2 there is no considerable difference at any time, but%SaO2 is the highest in the second group. With the serial fracture of ribs wounded are considerate the fall of worth pH which is progressively increasing and is the highest after 48 hours. PaCO2 is increasing in the both groups, but with the serial fracture the worth are considerably higher. PaO2 and %SaO2 are much lower after 48 hours. The authors conclude that the wounded on both sides and wounded with serial fracture along one or several lines of with fracture of all ribs suffer the highest respiratory insufficiency (ARI), so they need artificial ventilation as respiratory support.

Galactorrhoea following surgical procedures to the chest wall: the role of prolactin.

Normal prolactin levels were found in two cases of galactorrhoea following surgical procedures to the chest wall and one was treated successfully with bromocriptine. Studies were then carried out to test the claim that chest-wall injury is one of the common causes of hyperprolactinaemia. Serum prolactin levels were measured before and after thoracotomy in 7 patients, following traumatic rib fractures in 8 patients and after burns to the chest in one patient. No evidence was found to suggest that sustained hyperprolactinaemia follows chest wall surgery or injury, and the role of prolactin in the condition 'chest wall injury' galactorrhoea is discussed.