BACKGROUND To analyze casualties from the Camp Eagle Study, focusing on life-saving interventions (LSI) and potentially survivable deaths. METHODS Retrospective cohort of battle casualties from a forward base engaged in urban combat in Central Iraq. Medical support included emergency medicine practitioners and combat medics with advanced training and protocols. LSI were defined as advanced ai...

Background: Tube thoracostomy is an essential skill, and in thoracic trauma can be lifesaving. Yet a complication rate of up to 30% has been widely reported in the literature. Our primary aim was to look at the complication rate associated with chest drain insertion in trauma patients at our institution. Our secondary objectives included indications for tube thoracostomy and the differences in ...

INTRODUCTION Pleural drainage with chest tube insertion for thoracic trauma is a common and often life-saving technique. Although considered a simple procedure, complication rates have been reported to be 2-25%. We conducted a prospective cohort observational study of emergency pleural drainage procedures to validate the indications for pre-hospital thoracostomy and to identify complications fr...

BACKGROUND Thoracostomy tube (TT) placement constitutes primary treatment for traumatic hemopneumothorax. Practice patterns vary widely, and criteria for management and removal remain poorly defined. In this cohort study, we examined the impact of implementation of a practice guideline (PG) on improving management efficiency of thoracostomy tube. METHODS We developed a PG aimed at standardizi...

adjusted antibiotic treatment, when possible, and surgical drainage are crucial. Drainage is required to evacuate the accumulated pus and to sterilize and close the pleural cavity, thus allowing good pulmonary mobility. Different procedures may be employed, such as closed drainage systems by tube thoracostomy, or partial costectomy, or open systems, such as open thoracostomy with the creation o...

Successful treatment of traumatic hemothoraces is imperative to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients. Treatment modalities range from more conservative to invasive measures, including antibiotic therapy, thoracostomy tube placement, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, or thoracotomy. Various studies have documented success in using fibrinolytics such as tissue plasminogen activator (...

In this paper, we describe our experience in the treatment of childhood empyema using urokinase. Patients' ages ranged from 2 to 12 years. Urokinase (dosage: 3,100 IU/kg/day) was diluted in normal saline to produce 1000 IU/ml (maximum dosage 100,000 IU in 100 ml of normal saline). After 2 hours, the clamped catheters were released and connected to water-seal suction at a negative pressure of 10...

BACKGROUND Tension and bilateral pneumothorax can cause or contribute to death following trauma. A surgical incision (thoracostomy) or needle decompression through the chest wall rapidly treats these conditions. Resuscitation of patients in traumatic cardiac arrest focuses on treating common and reversible life-threatening conditions. A study was undertaken to observe the practice, findings and...