Small bowel obstruction managed without hospital admission: A safe way to reduce both cost and time in the hospital?

Background: Small bowel obstruction management has evolved to incorporate the Gastrografin challenge. We expanded its use to the emergency department observation unit, potentially avoiding hospital admission for highly select small bowel obstruction patients. We hypothesized that the emergency department observation unit small bowel obstruction protocol would reduce admissions, costs, and the total time spent in the hospital without compromising outcomes.

Pediatric surgical rib fixation: A collected case series of a rare entity.

Background: Rib fractures are uncommon in children and are markers of extreme traumatic force from high-energy or nonaccidental etiology. Traditional care includes nonoperative management, with analgesia, ventilator support, and pulmonary physiotherapy. Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRFs) has been associated with improved outcomes in adults.

CT-derived sarcopenia should not preclude surgical stabilization of traumatic rib fractures.

Background: Rib fractures are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) can be performed to mitigate complications. Sarcopenia is in general known to be associated with poor clinical outcomes.

Index Admission Characteristics and All-Cause Readmissions Analysis in Younger and Older Adults with Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Introduction: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) comprises 15-20% of all strokes with debilitating consequences. Data regarding characteristics and outcomes of primary ICH in the young are lacking, given its rarity, making comparisons between younger and older cohorts difficult to perform. Nationally representative administrative databases enable analysis of such rare events.

Severe rapidly progressive Guillain-Barré syndrome in the setting of acute COVID-19 disease.

There is concern that the global burden of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection might yield an increased occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). It is currently unknown whether concomitant SARS-CoV-2 infection and GBS are pathophysiologically related, what biomarkers are useful for diagnosis, and what is the optimal treatment given the medical comorbidities, complications, and simultaneous infection. We report a patient who developed severe GBS following SARS-CoV-2 infection at the peak of the initial COVID-19 surge (April 2020) in New York City and discuss diagnostic and management issues and complications that may warrant special consideration in similar patients.

Disease Severity and Cost in Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction.

Background: Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) severity has been associated with important clinical outcomes. However, the impact of ASBO severity on hospitalization cost is unknown. The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) developed an Emergency General Surgery (EGS) disease severity grading system for ASBO.

Variant ascending pharyngeal artery maintaining flow in a subocclusive internal carotid artery.

Ectopic branches of the external carotid artery are rare but have critical diagnostic and therapeutic implications. We present a case involving a 70-year-old man who presented with recurrent left hemispheric strokes in the setting of a subocclusive left internal carotid stenosis. A left ascending pharyngeal artery with variant origin from the internal carotid artery helped maintain flow distal to the area of stenosis and allowed for safe and successful internal carotid artery stenting.

Vaccination and splenectomy in Olmsted County.

Objectives: To determine the long-term impact of vaccination on any postoperative infection in adults who underwent splenectomy.

Methods: All adults (≥18 years) who underwent splenectomy from 1965 to 2011 in Olmsted County, MN were identified using the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier estimates, and Cox proportional hazard ratios were performed.

3D printed modeling contributes to reconstruction of complex chest wall instability.

Background: Three-dimensional printed models are increasingly used in many fields including medicine and surgery, but their use in the planning and execution of complex chest wall reconstruction has not been adequately described. In cases of non-union or prior attempts at chest wall reconstruction which have failed, there can be substantial deviations from expected chest wall anatomy. We report a novel technique for pre-operative planning and surgical execution of complex chest wall reconstruction, assisted by 3D printing.

Characteristics of hardware failure in patients undergoing surgical stabilization of rib fractures: A Chest Wall Injury Society multicenter study.

Background: Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) is increasingly used for severe rib fractures/flail chest. There are no reports discussing mechanisms of failure of implanted hardware, its clinical presentation, or consequences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, presenting signs, and clinical sequela of hardware failure after SSRF.

Small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen.

Introduction: Surgical exploration is still considered mandatory in the setting of small bowel obstruction (SBO) and a virgin abdomen by some large centers. The aim of this study is to determine the etiology of SBO in patients without prior abdominal operation.

Methods: Retrospective review of the patients treated for SBO and virgin abdomen at the Mayo Clinic between 2006 and 2016 was performed.

Salvage of rib stabilization hardware with antibiotic beads.

Background: Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) can be used to improve pulmonary mechanics; however, hardware infection is a morbid complication. Antibiotic impregnated beads have been used to suppress infection in orthopedic practices. We aimed to determine the efficacy of antibiotic beads for infected and at-risk SSRF hardware.

The practice and predictors of early mobilization of patients post-acute admission to a specialized stroke center.

Background: Early mobilization (EM) post-stroke is recommended; however, the ideal timing and nature of EM, and factors that may influence EM practice are unclear.

Objectives: The primary objective was to describe the type and extent of mobilization 0-48 h post-stroke admission to acute hospital care. A secondary objective was to evaluate whether pre-stroke functional level, stroke severity, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration, and level of consciousness (LOC) predicted any passive, any active, and out-of-bed mobilization (i.

Bone Autograft Coupled with Locking Plates Repairs Symptomatic Rib Fracture Nonunions.

Symptomatic rib nonunions are a rare complication after rib fractures. Methods used to address these nonunions range from pain management, rib resection, and rib fixation with plates and occasional autologous bone grafting. Given potential complications associated with rib resections such as pulmonary hernia, we hypothesized that plate fixation and autologous bone grafting would yield satisfactory long-term outcomes and a high union rate.

Surgical Stabilization of Rib Fractures in a 6-Year-Old Child After Blunt Trauma.

When identified, rib fractures in children are associated with high-energy trauma, nonaccidental trauma, or both. Traditionally, the optimal management of rib fractures in children is supportive care. In this case report, we present a 6-year-old boy who underwent surgical rib fixation for multiple displaced and comminuted rib fractures after being stepped on by a horse.

Definitive airway management after pre-hospital supraglottic airway insertion: Outcomes and a management algorithm for trauma patients.

Background: Prehospital airway management increasingly involves supraglottic airway insertion and a paucity of data evaluates outcomes in trauma populations. We aim to describe definitive airway management in traumatically injured patients who necessitated prehospital supraglottic airway insertion.

Methods: We performed a single institution retrospective review of multisystem injured patients (≥15years) that received prehospital supraglottic airway insertion during 2009 to 2016.

Swallowing dysfunction in elderly trauma patients.

Purpose: Newly diagnosed swallowing dysfunction is rare, with an incidence <1% in hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and clinical characteristics of dysphagia in elderly trauma patients specifically.

Methods: Patients ≥75years who had newly diagnosed swallowing dysfunction were identified by retrospective review of our institutional trauma database from 2009-2012.

Securing a Chest Tube Properly: A Simple Framework for Teaching Emergency Medicine Residents and Assessing Their Technical Abilities.

Background: Quality-improvement efforts at our institution have identified chest tube dislodgement as a preventable complication of tube thoracostomy. Because proper fixation techniques are not well described in the literature and are seldom formally taught, techniques vary among residents.

Objective: Our aim was to develop and test a framework for teaching and assessing chest tube securement.

Infected hardware after surgical stabilization of rib fractures: Outcomes and management experience.

Background: Surgical stabilization of rib fracture (SSRF) is increasingly used for treatment of rib fractures. There are few data on the incidence, risk factors, outcomes, and optimal management strategy for hardware infection in these patients. We aimed to develop and propose a management algorithm to help others treat this potentially morbid complication.

Outcomes of Complete Versus Partial Surgical Stabilization of Flail Chest.

Background: Rib fractures are common after chest wall trauma. For patients with flail chest, surgical stabilization is a promising technique for reducing morbidity. Anatomical difficulties often lead to an inability to completely repair the flail chest; thus, the result is partial flail chest stabilization (PFS).

IgG4-Related Disease Presenting as a Solitary Neck Mass.

IgG4-related disease is a newly recognized entity associated with autoimmune conditions involving almost every organ system. It is characterized by elevated serum IgG4 as well as mass like tissue infiltration by IgG4-positive plasma cells. Imaging findings are nonspecific, vary depending on the site of disease, and include mass like enlargement of the salivary or lacrimal glands and enlarged lymph nodes.