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Biomedical subjects

C P Cotter

Publications and source records attributed to C P Cotter.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Ultrarapid diagnostic peritoneal lavage.

Diagnostic peritoneal lavage is an important adjunct in the evaluation of blunt trauma. The open technique has proven to be safer, though more time consuming, than the closed percutaneous technique. A significant time-consuming aspect of the procedure is the infusion and drainage of the peritoneal lavage fluid. With the use of cystoscopy irrigation tubing, infusion time for one liter of Ringer's lactate averaged 2.9 minutes compared to 14.4 minutes when using IV fluid tubing. Similarly, effusion time was 2.3 times rather than 9.8 minutes. These differences are significant at the 0.0001 level. The average time saved was 19 minutes, allowing more rapid assessment and treatment of these critically injured patients.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries.

The anatomic distribution of diaphragmatic injuries varies. Over 95 percent of patients have a serious associated injury. A high index of suspicion and a routine chest x-ray are keys to the diagnosis. Diaphragmatic injuries may be divided into acute, latent and obstructive phases. Acute-phase mortality ranges from 11 to 37 percent, while obstructive-phase mortality is 30 to 66 percent. Early surgical repair of a diaphragmatic injury is required, regardless of the phase in which the defect is discovered.

Diaphragm↗