Major injuries of the pancreas are uncommon, but may result in considerable morbidity and mortality because of the magnitude of associated vascular and duodenal injuries or underestimation of the extent of the pancreatic injury. Prognosis is influenced by the cause and complexity of the pancreatic injury, the amount of blood lost, duration of shock, speed of resuscitation and quality and nature...

To cite: Scott AJ, Davies SJ, Vassiliu P. BMJ Case Reports Published online: 4 December 2012 doi:10.1136/bcr-2012006358 DESCRIPTION A 21-year-old man presented to a trauma department in Johannesburg with two sucking stab wounds on each side of his posterior thorax. The patient was in respiratory distress with oxygen saturation of 91% on 15 L O2. Blood pressure was 105/72 mm Hg, pulse 112/min an...

BACKGROUND Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) has become standard therapy for patients who acutely arrest after injury. Patient selection is vitally important to achieve optimal outcomes without wasting valuable resources. The aim of this study was to determine the main factors that most influence survival after EDT. STUDY DESIGN Twenty-four studies that included 4,620 cases from institut...

Gap junctional communication between microglia was investigated at rat brain stab wounds and in primary cultures of rat and mouse cells. Under resting conditions, rat microglia (FITC-isolectin-B4-reactive cells) were sparsely distributed in the neocortex, and most (95%) were not immunoreactive for Cx43, a gap junction protein subunit. At brain stab wounds, microglia progressively accumulated ov...

Introduction: Penetrating cardiac injuries generally occur secondary to gunshot or stab wounds and have a high mortality rate. They are rare and often fatal in children. When a foreign object penetrates the myocardium, it is dangerous to remove it, suddenly, and should be removed gradually to prevent excessive bleeding. Case report: We report a case of an unusual penetrating cardiac injury in a...

A comprehensive review of data has not yet been provided as penetrating injury to the buttock is not a common condition accounting for 2-3% of all penetrating injuries. The aim of the study is to provide the as yet lacking analytical review of the literature on penetrating trauma to the buttock, with appraisal of characteristics, features, outcomes, and patterns of major injuries. Based on thes...