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Biomedical subjects

B L McCroskey

Publications and source records attributed to B L McCroskey.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

A unified approach to the torn thoracic aorta.

In a 3-year experience treating 12 patients with blunt torn thoracic aorta, the repair technique was "clamp and sew" with an intraluminal graft in the initial six patients and partial left heart bypass using a centrifugal pump in the more recently treated six. Patients in the two groups were similar in regard to age, sex, and injury severity score. In the intraluminal graft group, graft insertion was abandoned for sutured anastomosis in two patients. Two patients sustained spinal cord ischemia, and two developed hypertension due to "pseudo-coarctation" syndrome. Because of these side effects related to the performance of intraluminal graft, partial left heart bypass was adopted as our routine procedure and was successful in all subsequent patients. Based on our experience and on reports in the current literature, we recommend left atrial-femoral bypass with the centrifugal pump for repair of the torn thoracic aorta.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A plea for sensible management of myocardial contusion.

The purpose of this study was to define the relative risk of life-threatening sequelae in patients at risk for myocardial contusion. During a 3-year period, 280 patients sustaining blunt chest trauma were admitted to the surgical intensive care unit to exclude myocardial contusion. Patients were evaluated by electrocardiogram and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) MB enzyme levels every 8 hours for a minimum of 48 hours. Myocardial contusion was identified in 35 patients (13 percent); the diagnosis was established by transient electrocardiographic changes (30), CPK-MB more than 3 percent (9) or both criteria (4). Two patients (1 percent) died from cardiac decompensation 4 and 12 hours postinjury, and seven (3 percent) required early (12 hours postinjury) intensive care unit treatment of arrhythmias or myocardial failure. None of the remaining 271 patients developed cardiac symptoms. This clinical experience underscores the low incidence of cardiac sequelae among patients at risk for myocardial contusion. Complications were always manifest within 12 hours of injury. The clinical diagnosis of myocardial contusion can be excluded pragmatically in the asymptomatic patient with a normal electrocardiogram and CPK-MB levels during the initial 24-hour postinjury period.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Selection of grafts currently available for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

The ideal vascular graft has not yet been developed. However, in the aortic position, excellent results can be obtained using a variety of currently available grafts, which offer similar patency rates and durability. Therefore, graft selection depends on other considerations, such as the ease of handling and preclotting requirements.

Aorta, Abdominal↗
PubMed1989

Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Special considerations.

The keys to a better outcome in the management of ruptured aneurysm are early diagnosis, aggressive resuscitation, and early operation, with prompt achievement of proximal control. Having achieved these goals, there is a tendency to let down one's guard and relax; indeed, the principles of aneurysm repair beyond this point are similar to those of elective surgery. However, it should be remembered that nearly every complication is more likely in emergency than in elective operations. Therefore, even more care needs to be taken with the technical details at this point to avoid the complications discussed in the following article. The perioperative management must continue at the same heightened level to combat acidosis, hypothermia, coagulation disorders, cardiac dysfunction, fluid overload with pulmonary edema, renal failure, and other common sequelae of this challenging undertaking.

Aorta, Abdominal↗
PubMed1989

Gastrointestinal symptoms attributed to jejunostomy feeding after major abdominal trauma--a critical analysis.

Meeting the increased metabolic demands in the critically injured is a continuing challenge. Benefits of early enteral feeding after abdominal trauma have been previously reported, but the frequency of patient intolerance due to GI complaints remains unclear. One hundred twenty-three patients undergoing emergent laparotomy for major abdominal trauma with an abdominal trauma index greater than or equal to 15 were prospectively randomized to either a control group (n = 52, no enteral nutrition during the first 5 days) or an enteral-fed group (n = 71). The enteral group had a needle catheter jejunostomy (NCJ) placed at laparotomy and an elemental diet begun 12 h postoperatively, advanced in volume and concentration at 8-h intervals to 100-125 ml/h of full-strength diet. Symptoms of GI complaints (nausea, vomiting, cramping, distention, and diarrhea) were monitored daily and graded as minimal, moderate, or significant. Fifty percent of the control group had one or more GI complaints during the study period; six (12%) developed moderate discomfort. In the enteral group, 59 (83%) patients reported some GI discomfort; 11 had significant complaints (two nausea, seven cramping, six distention, two diarrhea). Nine (13%) of the enteral-fed patients ultimately required total parenteral nutrition supplementation due to GI complaints. The remaining 62 (87%) enteral patients were maintained on the elemental diet for a mean of 7 days (range 5 to 20). By postoperative day 5, patients received an average of 35 kcal/kg and 14.5 g N/day; 66% (41/62) were in positive N balance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1989

TEN versus TPN following major abdominal trauma--reduced septic morbidity.

Recent animal models suggest that enteral feeding (TEN) compared to parenteral nutrition (TPN) improves resistance to infection. This prospective clinical trial examined the impact of early TEN vs. TPN in the critically injured. Seventy-five patients with an abdominal trauma index (ATI) greater than 15 and less than 40 were randomized at initial laparotomy to receive either TEN (Vivonex TEN) or TPN (Freamine HBC 6.9% and Trophamine 6%); both regimens contained 2.5% fat, 33% branched chain amino acids, and had a calorie to nitrogen ratio of 150:1. TEN was delivered via a needle catheter jejunostomy. Nutritional support was initiated within 12 hours postoperatively in both groups, and infused at a rate sufficient to render the patients in positive nitrogen balance. The study groups (TEN = 29 vs TPN = 30) were comparable in age, injury severity and initial metabolic stress. Jejunal feeding was tolerated unconditionally in 25 (86%) of the TEN group. Nitrogen balance remained equivalent throughout the study period, at day 5 TEN = -0.3 +/- 1.0 vs. TPN 0.1 +/- 0.8 gm/day. Traditional nutritional protein markers (albumin, transferrin, and retinol binding protein) were restored better in the TEN group. Infections developed in 5 (17%) of the TEN patients compared to 11 (37%) of the TPN group. The incidence of major septic morbidity was 3% (1 = abdominal abscess) in the TEN group contrasted to 20% (2 = abdominal abscess, 6 = pneumonia) with TPN. This clinical study demonstrates that TEN is well tolerated in the severely injured, and that early feeding via the gut reduces septic complications in the stressed patient.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1989

Operative splenic salvage in adults: a decade perspective.

The immunologic value of the spleen is now unchallenged; recognition of this fact has changed the management of splenic trauma radically over the past decade. This review describes our clinical experience in adults during this metamorphosis. In the 10-year period ending December 1987, 314 adults had splenic injury identified at emergent laparotomy. Mean patient age was 30.1 years and 81% were men. Injury mechanism was blunt in 227 (72%), stab wound in 49, and gunshot wound in 38. In 1978 splenorrhaphy was accomplished in nine (29%) of 31 patients; during 1982-1987 the rate of operative splenic salvage has been 63% (107/170). Splenorrhaphy was achieved with hemostatic agents in 40%, debridement and suturing in 40%, formal splenic resection in 13%, and mesh bag in 7%. Grade I splenic injuries were amendable to hemostatic agents alone, and suturing or mesh enclosure was necessary in 43% of Grade II and in all Grade III injuries. Grade IV disruption required anatomic splenic resection for hemorrhage control in 88% of the cases. During this period 63 patients underwent splenectomy; 48 (76%) had Grade V injuries that were technically unapproachable. The remaining splenectomies were performed expeditiously in multisystem injured patients harboring other critical injuries. This decade perspective documents the feasibility of operative splenic salvage in nearly two thirds of acutely injured adults. Conversely, more than one third require prompt splenectomy due to massive splenic disruption or the presence of concomitant life-threatening injuries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Presumptive antibiotics for penetrating abdominal wounds.

The optimal antimicrobial agent or agents for penetrating abdominal injuries remains undetermined. During the three year period ending August 1987, 317 consecutive patients undergoing celiotomy for penetrating abdominal trauma were prospectively randomized to receive either mezlocillin, 4 grams every six hours, or clindamycin, 600 milligrams every six hours, and gentamicin, loading dose of 2.0 milligrams per kilogram, then 1.5 kilograms every eight hours. Antibiotics were begun in the emergency department with duration of coverage based on the pattern of injury: the colon, five days; other hollow visceral injury, two days, and all others, one day. Twenty-three patients were excluded because of breach of protocol and 16 others died within 72 hours of presentation. The two study groups, 136 patients receiving mezlocillin and 142 patients receiving gentamicin and clindamycin, were comparable with respect to age, sex, mechanism of injury, shock, intraoperative replacement of blood, abdominal trauma index and distribution of hollow visceral injuries. The over-all incidence of septic morbidity was similar: infections developed in 21 (15 per cent) of the patients receiving mezlocillin compared with 19 (13 per cent) of patients receiving gentamicin and clindamycin. There was no significant difference in major infections (lobar pneumonia and intra-abdominal abscess), with 13 per cent in each group. The offending pathogens were similar. The most common isolates in intra-abdominal abscess were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Enterococcus species and anaerobic Bacteroides species. Mezlocillin, an extended spectrum penicillin, achieved similar results, compared with the expensive and potentially toxic combination regimen in patients with penetrating abdominal injuries.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1988

Traumatic injuries of the brachial artery.

Sixty-four patients with traumatic brachial artery injuries were treated. Fifty had penetrating and 14 had blunt injuries. Associated extremity and torso injuries were common. Despite an excellent vascular patency rate of 97 percent, limb loss resulted from severe soft-tissue injury and functional disability occurred due to nerve injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Pyelo-choledochal fistula accompanying operative cholangiography.

Fistulous communications between the biliary system and the urinary tract are encountered infrequently and, routinely, they are associated with operative dissections involving both systems. We report a case of opacification of the right renal collecting system during cholangiography following uneventful cholecystectomy. Prompt spontaneous resolution was verified by subsequent excretory urography.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Hypothermia-induced coagulopathies in trauma.

Hemorrhage accounts for 90 per cent of deaths after abdominal injury, and half of these deaths are secondary to a recalcitrant coagulopathy. This review concentrates on our present knowledge of the role of hypothermia in trauma-related coagulopathies and notes that preventing as well as treating these disorders remains the focus and the challenge of many investigators in the field of trauma.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Value of distal colon washout in civilian rectal trauma--reducing gut bacterial translocation.

Recent experience with civilian rectal trauma challenges the military dictum advocating routine distal colon washout. Opponents contend that septic morbidity is not influenced by perioperative removal of feces from the rectosigmoid region. In an effort to elucidate this issue, we reviewed 27 consecutive patients sustaining extraperitoneal rectal trauma over the past 5 years. One patient, exsanguinating from abdominal vascular injury, was excluded from further analysis. In the remaining 26 patients, rectal injury was due to gunshot wound in 16 (62%), pelvic fracture in 8 (31%), and stab wound in 2 (7%). The mean Revised Trauma Score was 6.9 +/- 0.4, Abdominal Trauma Index 20.9 +/- 8.1, and Injury Severity Score 28.6 +/- 11.0. Proximal colostomy was done in all patients and presacral drains were placed in 23 (88%). Broad-spectrum antibiotics were administered for a minimum of 5 days. Thirteen (50%) of the group underwent intraoperative washout of the distal rectosigmoid colon, dictated by attending surgeon's preference; the other half did not. These two groups were otherwise comparable with respect to injury mechanism, shock on arrival, rectal wound severity, associated injuries, and perioperative blood transfusions. Major complications were greater in the no-washout versus washout groups: pelvic abscess, 46% vs. 8%; rectal fistulae, 23% vs. 8%; and sepsis, 15% vs. 8%. The single death (4%) occurred in the no-washout group. Although based on a small group of patients, these trends imply that distal colon washout reduces septic morbidity following civilian rectal trauma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The role of a regional trauma system in the management of a mass disaster: an analysis of the Keystone, Colorado, chairlift accident.

On December 14, 1985, the Teller chairlift at the Keystone, Colorado, ski area collapsed, throwing 60 of the 372 people aboard to the ground from heights up to 50 feet. Initial triage and management of the victims was carried out by the local ski patrol, the on-duty physician at the area's Snake River Health Services Clinic, and by volunteer physicians and nurses present at the scene. Thirty-three people required immediate evacuation to hospitals, most of them being transported 75 miles by helicopter air ambulance to level I and II trauma centers in the Denver metropolitan area. Eighteen of these air-evacuated patients were in serious or critical condition. Less seriously injured victims were treated at local medical facilities. The scene evacuation was carried out by helicopter and ground vehicles in accordance with an existing disaster plan coordinated by the Colorado Trauma Institute (CTI). The unique problems posed by a mass casualty incident in a remote mountain location are emphasized by this tragedy. Patient salvage due to the efficacy of a regionally organized trauma system is clearly demonstrated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Total enteral nutrition versus total parenteral nutrition after major torso injury: attenuation of hepatic protein reprioritization.

Reprioritization of hepatic protein synthesis, a process involving accelerated production of acute-phase proteins at the expense of constitutive proteins, accompanies major trauma. The impact of isocaloric, isonitrogenous total enteral nutrition (TEN) versus total parenteral nutrition (TPN) on hepatic reprioritization was investigated in a prospective, randomized trial. Of the 59 patients with an abdominal trauma index (ATI) greater than 15 but not more than 40, 45 evaluable patients were followed. Results from 36 (18 TEN, 18 TPN) evaluable patients revealed that mean serum levels of acute-phase proteins increased, whereas mean serum levels increased to a greater extent in the TPN group. The maximal increase from baseline for the acute-phase response in both groups occurred at postinjury day 5 and was significantly higher for alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1AT, p = 0.03) and orosomucoid (p = 0.02) in the TPN group. Nonacute-phase proteins reached a nadir at day 10 in the TPN group and increased in the TEN group; significant differences between TEN and TPN groups appeared for albumin (p = 0.004) and retinol-binding protein (RBP, p = 0.03); alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) approached significance at day 10 (p = 0.07). When change from baseline values was compared, day 10 increases in alpha 2M were significantly higher (p = 0.04) in the TEN group. These data suggest that postinjury TEN attenuates reprioritization of hepatic protein synthesis in patients sustaining major trauma.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1987

Traumatic popliteal and trifurcation vascular injuries: determinants of functional limb salvage.

Forty-seven patients with 64 popliteal or trifurcation arterial injuries were analyzed to elucidate the influence of associated limb trauma on ultimate functional recovery. Nerve, bone, and soft tissue injuries appeared to be critical risk factors. Two or more risk factors were present in 60 percent of 30 blunt injuries, compared with 17 percent of 18 penetrating injuries. All limbs with less than two of these risk factors recovered to a functional state, whereas none of the limbs with all three risk factors had a good outcome, and 7 of 13 limbs (54 percent) were amputated. Vascular reconstruction was successful in 90 percent of the 48 limbs, and patency was 100 percent among the 27 limbs with less than two risk factors. Patients with all three risk factors should be considered for early amputation. We believe reports of peripheral vascular trauma must delineate associated limb injuries to facilitate analysis of patients stratified by relative risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Selective management of blunt abdominal trauma in children--the triage role of peritoneal lavage.

The evolution of selective laparotomy in children sustaining blunt abdominal trauma has been highly controversial. This report describes our experience and policy change during this transitional period. Emergency laparotomies performed in the pediatric age group (less than 14 yr) between 1980 and 1984, based on peritoneal lavage, were reviewed. Of 16 such patients, six (37.5%) had injuries identified at laparotomy necessitating operation, (four greater than Grade III spleen, one hepatic vein, one small bowel). The remaining ten patients (67.5%) had injuries which probably could have been managed nonoperatively (eight less than or equal to Grade II spleen, two less than or equal to Grade II liver). We additionally reviewed 46 peritoneal lavages done in children during 1984, and noted a 100% sensitivity but 86% specificity when considering essential laparotomies. Based on these data, we established a selective management protocol and initiated a prospective study in January 1985. The protocol consisted of: 1) routine peritoneal lavage (DPL) in children at high risk for abdominal injury, 2) immediate laparotomy for DPL positive for blood in conjunction with hemodynamic instability, 3) selective laparotomy for DPL positive for blood in a stable child, additionally evaluated by abdominal CT scan (major mechanism) or liver/spleen scan (minor mechanism), and 4) mandatory laparotomy for DPL effluent positive by criteria other than blood. This policy reduced unnecessary laparotomy, otherwise warranted by DPL, to 18% (2/11); both patients had Grade II splenic injuries. Five children sustaining low-energy trauma were managed nonoperatively following peritoneal aspiration of gross blood with L-S scan confirming minor solid visceral injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abdominal Injuries↗