Clinical implications of the seat belt sign in blunt trauma.

Patients with the seat belt sign (SBS) from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are prone to specific regional injury patterns. Investigators at a Level 1 trauma center analyzed the incidence, clinical implications, and spectrum of regional injuries in patients injured in MVC over 2 years. SBS was seen in 11.

Prehospital pain assessment in pediatric trauma.

Objective: Investigators implemented the current study to analyze the documentation of pain assessments and interventions for injured children in prehospital settings.

Methods: For this institutional review board-approved retrospective study, 696 Lucas County Emergency Medical Services trauma charts (46% of the county's total runs) from 2002 to 2004 were reviewed, and descriptive statistics of frequency were used to analyze pain-assessment documentation and interventions.

Results: Pain was noted in 64.

An appraisal of trauma in the elderly.

To review the trends of trauma in the elderly experienced at our trauma center compared with other Level I trauma centers. This was a retrospective trauma registry analysis (1996-2003) of 2783 blunt trauma in elderly (BTE) and 4568 adult (BTA) patients in a Level 1 trauma center. Falls and motor vehicular crashes were the most common mechanisms noted in 47 per cent and 31 per cent (84% and 13% in BTE, 25% and 42% in BTA).

Pediatric blunt trauma: a retrospective analysis in a Level I trauma center.

This study consisted of an 8-year retrospective trauma registry analysis of blunt trauma and comprised of 2458 children (<18 years of age) and 4568 adults (18-64 years of age). Falls and motor vehicular crashes were seen in 30.4 per cent (749) and 23 per cent (566) of children, and 25.