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Management of postthoracotomy pain: acute and chronic.

Given the discomfort of thoracic surgical incisions, thoracic surgeons must understand and use contemporary multimodality pain treatments. Acute postthoracotomy pain not only causes psychologic distress to the patient but also has detrimental effects on pulmonary function and postoperative mobility, leading to increased morbidity. By choosing the most appropriate and least traumatic surgical incision, adhering to meticulous surgical techniques, and avoiding intercostal nerve injury or rib fractures, surgeons can minimize postoperative pain. Aggressive perioperative and postoperative pain management is best accomplished with use of an epidural anesthetic and covering breakthrough pain with an IV-PCA. Alternatively, an infusion system for continuous administration of local anesthetics directly in the subpleural plane, posterior to the intercostal incision, also provides excellent pain control. Again, use of an IV-PCA as adjuvant therapy is recommended. With careful planning, severe pain and its negative impact on thoracic surgical patients can be prevented.

Acute Disease↗

Should helical CT scanning of the thoracic cavity replace the conventional chest x-ray as a primary assessment tool in pediatric trauma? An efficacy and cost analysis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Findings from studies in the trauma literature suggest that thoracic computed tomography (TCT) scanning should replace conventional radiographs as an initial imaging modality. Limited data exist on the clinical utility and cost of TCT scans in pediatric trauma. Our current practice is to obtain TCT scans in those children at risk for thoracic injures. The purpose of this study is to examine what additional information TCT provides, how frequently it results in a change in clinical management, and a cost/benefit analysis. METHODS: Children 18 years old and younger that had both a Chest x-ray (CXR) and TCT scan in their initial workup were included. Indications for TCT scan were (1) any sign of thoracic injury on CXR, (2) pathologic findings on physical examination of the chest, and (3) high impact force to chest wall. A child may have had one or more indications for a TCT scan. RESULTS: Between 1996 and 2000, 45 of 1,638 trauma patients met study criteria. Indications for TCT included thoracic injury on CXR (n = 27), findings on physical examination (n = 8) and high-impact force (n = 33). In 18 of the 45 (40%), injuries were detected with TCT imaging but not on CXR. These included contusions (n = 12), hemothorax (n = 6), pneumothorax (n = 5), widened mediastinum (n = 4), rib fractures (n = 2), diaphragmatic rupture (n = 1), and aortic injury (n = 1). In 8 patients (17.7%) TCT imaging resulted in a change in clinical management. These included insertion of a chest tube (n = 5) aortography (n = 2) and operation (n = 1). Age, sex, injury severity score, mechanism, and indication for TCT could not predict differences between TCT and CXR (P >.05). In our institution, the cost of a TCT is $200, and the patient charge is $906 ($94 per CXR). Based on our study data 200 TCTs would need to be done for each clinically significant change, increasing patient ($180,000) and hospital ($39,600) costs. CONCLUSIONS: Helical TCT is a highly sensitive imaging modality for the thoracic cavity; however, routine CXR still provides clinically valuable information for the initial trauma evaluation at minimal cost. TCT should be reserved for selected cases and not as a primary imaging tool.

Accidents, Traffic↗

[Acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta and its branches. Results of surgical management].

STUDY AIM: The aim of this retrospective study was to report a series of 102 patients with acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta and its branches (TRA) and to evaluate long-term results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From April 1977 to April 2000, 102 patients with RTA were admitted to our unit. Age ranged between 12 and 74 years (mean age: 33 years). Localisation was: ascending aorta (n = 3), aortic arch (n = 1), isthmus (n = 92), descending aorta (n = 1), innominate artery (n = 3), and left subclavian artery (n = 2). Associated injuries mainly included craniocerebral lesions (n = 76), rib fractures (n = 68), and thoracic (n = 38), and abdominal (n = 24) lesions. Average time between trauma and surgery was 37 hours. Aortography was used routinely for diagnosis. Five patients were inoperable; the procedure was delayed in three patients. In all but two patients with rupture of the isthmus, descending aorta and subclavian artery, the operation included venous arterial femorofemoral assistance. Rupture was partial in 37 patients (37 direct sutures), and complete in 55 patients (40 direct sutures). In two cases of left subclavian artery desinsertion, the operation included suture of the aortic tear and reimplantation of the artery. In patients with rupture of the ascending aorta and aortic arch, surgery was carried out under cardiopulmonary bypass with deep hypothermia for aortic arch rupture. Repair consisted of direct suture. In patients with rupture of the innominate artery, the lesion was treated under cardiopulmonary bypass by direct suture. In five cases, abdominal injuries required emergency procedure before aortic repair. RESULTS: Four patients died. No postoperative paraplegia occurred. The high morbidity rate was in relation to the associated injuries. Among the 93 survivors, the aortic clinical status was satisfactory in 91 patients (two patients were lost to follow-up). Two patients died from cancer and myocardial infarction 2 and 7 years later respectively. One patient had prosthetic sepsis and was reoperated on with homograft. Angiographic control by aortography (n = 60) and angioMRI (n = 22) was normal in 76 patients. There were five stenoses at the level of the prosthesis, four with a gradient < 20 mmHg and one with a gradient > 50 mmHg and one aneurysm at the level of the isthmus. These last two patients were reoperated on with good result. CONCLUSION: RTA remains a surgical emergency with multiple difficulties. Despite the development of new imaging modalities, angiography remains the gold standard for the work-up of these patients. Venous arterial femorofemoral assistance with a pump remains the best procedure in order to avoid paraplegia and vascular prosthesis implantation when possible. Endovascular stent graft insertion, although still under investigation, holds tremendous promise for non-surgical treatment of these patients.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Seat belt-related chondrosternal disruption with lung herniation.

A case of blunt chest trauma resulting in anterior chondrosternal separation with right lung herniation and hemothorax is presented. The injury is related to the use of a seat belt restraint. The patient underwent surgical repair with polytetrafluoroethylene chest wall reconstruction. Postoperative recovery was complicated by respiratory insufficiency due to underlying pulmonary contusion and multiple rib fractures.

Cartilage↗

Recurrent intercostal herniation of the liver.

Abdominal intercostal hernia occurs rarely, with only 26 previous cases reported in the professional literature. A 51-year-old man presented with a painful right chest protrusion. One year earlier he had experienced a severe coughing spell and spontaneous rib fracture and chest protrusion. He was treated with endogenous tissue reinforcement and had no clinical improvement. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the liver protruding through the chest wall. The hernia was reduced and the chest wall was repaired with prosthetic mesh and cables. Attention to the chest wall anatomy and reliable tissue closure including pericostal or transcostal nonabsorbable sutures and a prosthetic bridge over the defect are the best way to eliminate the patient's risk for recurrence.

Hernia↗

Atraumatic lung hernia.

Lung hernia is a distinctly rare event, regardless of its location and cause. Most lung hernias are acquired traumatic thoracic hernias. All previously reported cases of acquired spontaneous lung hernia involve some aspect of trauma, most commonly caused by vigorous coughing with a subsequent rib fracture. We report a case of totally atraumatic, acquired spontaneous lung hernia.

Hernia↗

Chest radiograph appearances following the removal of pleural tubes.

Appearances on chest radiographs following the insertion and removal of 40 intrapleural tubes in 34 patients are described. Forty-three appearances were identified that were definitely related to tubes. The commonest of these were pleural densities and tube tracks, both of which usually resolved within seven days. Densities accounted for most of the appearances lasting longer than this. Less common appearances were skin holes due to skin puckering around the tube at its site of entry, and small air-fluid levels at the tube tip. A separate group of 14 intrapleural tubes is described: on their removal no chest radiograph appearance was attributable to the tubes. Two further cases are described in which a tube-related appearance was simulated: one by a metastasis, and the other by a healing rib fracture.

Catheterization↗

Lesions in the ribs detected by bone scanning.

Five cases are presented in which lesions in the ribs were first detected on bone scanning. In all cases routine radiology was normal and the bone scans were of value in obtaining either the correct diagnosis or defining the extent of disease.

Adolescent↗

The stove-in chest: a complex flail chest injury.

The stove-in chest is a rare form of flail chest in which there is collapse of a segment of the chest wall, associated with a high immediate mortality. A 65-year-old male pedestrian was admitted with severe chest pain and dyspnoea, after being struck by a car. The initial chest radiograph demonstrated multiple right-sided rib fractures and pulmonary contusion. His gas exchange was good, and after pain relief via an epidural catheter was achieved, an intercostal drain was inserted into the right hemi-thorax. Clinically apparent deformation of the chest then occurred. A further chest radiograph confirmed the stove-in chest. The patient remained well initially, but on day 5 he deteriorated precipitously with respiratory failure, and signs of systemic sepsis. He died despite maximal ventilatory and inotropic support on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Post-mortem examination demonstrated congested, oedematous lungs with a right-sided empyema. The management of complex flail chest injuries requires treatment to be tailored to the individual patient. Early ventilatory support, despite good gas exchange, may have closed down the pleural space prevented the empyema. Prophylactic ventilation and possibly surgical stabilisation of the chest wall should be considered early in the course of admission, even when the conventional parameters to indicate ventilation are not met.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Traumatic intercostal hernia due to a nonpenetrating injury in a child.

Herniation of the lung is a recognized, though rare, complication of thoracotomy and penetrating chest injury. Closed chest injury is usually associated with rib fractures, laceration of the lung, and rupture of the diaphragm, bronchus, and aorta. It is unusual for the intercostal muscles to be ruptured in a closed chest injury. In this case, herniation of the lung may result.

Child↗

Achondrogenesis type I: delineation of further heterogeneity and identification of two distinct subgroups.

Achondrogenesis has traditionally been divided into type I (Parenti-Fraccaro) and type II (Langer-Saldino). We studied the clinical, radiologic, and morphologic features of 17 cases previously diagnosed as achondrogenesis type I to define whether there is even further heterogeneity. On radiographic analysis, two distinct groups of patients were defined based on the presence or absence of rib fractures and ossification of the vertebral pedicles, ischium, and fibula. Two distinct chondroosseous morphologic patterns were observed that directly correlated with the radiographic grouping. One group had round vacuolated chondrocytes with inclusion bodies; the other had collagenous rings around the chondrocytes. We conclude that achondrogenesis type I (Parenti-Fraccaro) consists of two distinct disorders: type IA, which corresponds to the cases originally published by Houston et al. and Harris et al., and type IB, which corresponds to the case originally published by Fraccaro. Analysis of Parenti's case suggests the diagnosis of achondrogenesis type II. All three types of achondrogenesis appear to be inherited as autosomal recessive traits.

Enchondromatosis↗

Adrenal gland trauma is associated with high injury severity and mortality.

PURPOSE: To review a statewide experience of adrenal gland trauma (AGT), incidence, demographics, associated injuries, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), mechanisms of injury, and complications, associated with AGT. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients admitted to accredited trauma centers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who sustained AGT from January 1, 1989 to December 31, 2000. RESULTS: Adrenal trauma was found in 322 of 210,508 cases (0.15%). There were 76.4% men and 23.6% women. Seventy-one percent of patients had an ISS greater than 20. The overall mortality was 32.6%. The mechanism of injury was blunt in 81.4% of the cases and penetrating in 18.6%. Vehicular accidents constituted 48.8% of the cases. Younger age was associated with male predominance and greater proportion of penetrating injuries. Although exact indications are not known, advanced imaging studies were done in 163 of 322 (50.6%) patients: computed tomography in 133 (41.3%), ultrasound in 26 (8.1%), and angiography in 4 cases (1.2%). Exploratory laparotomy was done in 60 (18.6%), splenectomy in 25 (7.8%), nephrectomy in 14 (4.3%), and adrenalectomy in 8 (2.5%). Penetrating injuries had a 43.8% rate of exploratory laparotomy, whereas it was 12.4% in blunt trauma. Associated injuries included liver injury (57.8%), rib fractures (50.9%), kidney injury (41.3%), and spleen injury (32.9%). Pulmonary complications were most common, followed by infection/sepsis, and cardiovascular. Nearly 45% of patients were discharged home, 17% of patients were discharged to a rehabilitation facility, and 3.4% to nursing homes. CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal gland trauma is a rare and largely coincidental finding diagnosed either during an initial radiologic examination or surgical exploration for other injuries. Surgical exploration was carried out in 21.4% of patients, with adrenalectomy in 2.5% of cases and nephrectomy in 4.3% of cases. Adrenal injury is associated with high injury severity, and with mortality rates up to 5 times higher than non-AGT trauma.

Adolescent↗

Blunt chest trauma and suspected aortic rupture: reliability of chest radiograph findings.

The chest radiographs of 86 patients with suspected aortic rupture from blunt chest trauma were reviewed. Seventy-three patients had no evidence of aortic rupture on aortography or surgical exploration, and 13 patients had surgically confirmed rupture. Sixteen radiographic findings were analyzed for sensitivity and specificity in detecting aortic rupture. The following findings were not statistically significant: hemothorax on either side; rib fractures on either side; pneumothorax on either side; lung contusion; widened left paravertebral stripe; and widening of the mediastinum, along with an increased ratio of mediastinal width to chest width. The most helpful findings leading to suspicion of aortic rupture included nasogastric tube or tracheal deviation to the right at the T4 level; depression of the left mainstem bronchus; and loss of the aortic contour or knob and left apical cap. False positives and false negatives occurred with each radiographic sign, indicating that there is no single finding that is absolutely reliable in predicting or excluding significant injury in every patient with suspected aortic rupture. Analysis of combinations of findings found that when the aortic contour and knob are normal and the nasogastric tube and trachea are not deviated, there was no case of aortic rupture in four consecutive years of experience. These four signs can be used to exclude aortic rupture.

Aortic Rupture↗

Pediatric injuries from cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the type, rate, and severity of unanticipated complications of CPR (external cardiac compressions and ventilation) in a pediatric population. METHODS: A retrospective review was undertaken of the records from all deceased children ( < 12 years old) who had been given CPR during an 8-year period (1988 through 1995). Patients with historical or physical evidence of preceding trauma were excluded. Clinical and autopsy records were abstracted for patient demographics, clinical findings, duration of CPR, persons administering CPR, and medical examiner summaries. RESULTS: Two hundred eleven children (mean age, 19.0 months) met the inclusion criteria and were entered into the study. The most common cause of cardiac arrest was sudden infant death syndrome (56%), followed by drowning (8%), congenital heart disease (7%), and pneumonia (4%). Mean duration of CPR was 45 minutes (range, 3 to 180 minutes). Fifteen children (7%) had at least one injury as a result of CPR; 7 (3%) had injuries that were considered medically significant. These included retroperitoneal hemorrhage (n = 2), pneumothorax (n = 1), pulmonary hemorrhage (n = 1), epicardial hematoma (n = 1), and gastric perforation (n = 1); in spite of prolonged resuscitation performed with variable degrees of skill, only one patient was noted to have rib fractures. CONCLUSION: Significant iatrogenic injuries are rare in children who receive CPR; they occur in approximately 3% of cases. Recognizing the possibility of a complication may help in the management of children who survive cardiac arrest. Regardless of resuscitation history, abuse should be considered whenever traumatic injuries are encountered.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation↗

[Thoracic traumatism in a specialized unit. Its epidemiology and morbimortality].

Two hundred forty-eight cases of thoracic trauma arriving at our hospital between 1990 and 1992 are analyzed in this report. Injuries were only thoracic in 29% of the cases. The remaining patients presented associated lesions, mainly in the extremities, followed by head injuries. Single or multiple rib fracture, in 193 (77.8%) patients, was the most frequent thoracic injury, followed by 94 (37.6%) cases of hemothorax and 80 (30.2%) instances of pneumothorax. Pulmonary contusion in 57 (22.9%) cases was a serious consequence with a mortality rate of 35.7%. Eighty six (34.6%) chest tube were placed and 14 (5.6%) thoracotomies were performed. Death occurred in 34 (13.7%) cases and was mainly related to the presence of associated injuries, in 29 (16.7%) patients as opposed to 5 (6.9%) (p < 0.05), and to pulmonary contusion in 20 (35.7%) patients vs. 13 (6.8%) (p < 0.001).

Adolescent↗

Bone changes in alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. A histomorphometric study.

The effects of alcoholic liver cirrhosis on the calcium, calciotropic hormones (parathyroid hormone and 25 hydroxy vitamin D) and testosterone were examined in twenty men. A transiliac bone biopsy was performed in each patient. A double tetracycline labeling was done in 17 patients. Radiological signs of osteoporosis (crushed vertebrae and rib fractures) were rarely observed but a low trabecular bone volume (BV/TV) was consistently encountered (BV/TV = 14.2 +/- 4.6; normal 18.8 +/- 4.8; p less than .001). Osteomalacic signs were never observed in spite of very low calcium and 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels in the blood. Increased osteoclastic eroded surfaces (ES/BS = 8.1 +/- 5.2; normal 3.7 +/- 1.1; p less than .001) were not related with an hyperparathyroidism but a significant correlation was found with testosterone levels (r = .45; p less than .05). Histodynamic measurements indicate a drastically decreased osteoblastic activity with a very low bone formation rate (BFR/BS = .009 +/- .001; normal .0175 +/- .0125; p less than .001). This could explain the net increase of eroded surfaces and that osteomalacia cannot be observed even in the presence of profound calcium and vitamin D changes in alcoholics.

Aged↗

Locoregional irradiation for inflammatory breast cancer: effectiveness of dose escalation in decreasing recurrence.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of radiation dose escalation on locoregional control, overall survival, and long-term complication in patients with inflammatory breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From September 1977 to December 1993, 115 patients with nonmetastatic inflammatory breast cancer were treated with curative intent at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The usual sequence of multimodal treatment consisted of induction FAC or FACVP chemotherapy, mastectomy (if the tumor was operable), further chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to the chest wall and draining lymphatics. Sixty-one patients treated from September 1977 to September 1985 received a maximal radiation dose of 60 Gy to the chest wall and 45-50 Gy to the regional lymph nodes, 22 treated once a day at 2 Gy per fraction, and 35 were treated b.i.d. (32 after mastectomy and all chemotherapy was completed, and 2 immediately after mastectomy; one patient had distant metastases discovered during b.i.d. irradiation, and treatment was stopped). Four additional patients received preoperative radiation with standard fractionation. Based on the analysis of the failure patterns of the patients, the dose was increased for the b.i.d. patients in the new series, with 51 Gy delivered to the chest wall and regional nodes, followed by a 15-Gy boost to the chest wall with electrons. From January 1986 to December 1993, 39 patients were treated b.i.d. to this higher dose after mastectomy and all the chemotherapy was completed; and 8 additional patients received preoperative irradiation with b.i.d. fractionation to 51 Gy. During this period, another 7 patients were treated using standard daily doses of 2 Gy per fraction to a total of 60 Gy, either because they had a complete response or minimal residual disease at mastectomy or because their work schedule did not permit the b.i.d. regimen. Comparison was made between the groups for locoregional control, disease-free and overall survival, and complication rates. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 5.7 years (range, 1.8-17.6 years). For the entire patient group, the 5- and 10-year local control rates were 73.2% and 67.1%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year disease-free survival rates were 32.0% and 28.8%, respectively, and the overall survival rates for the entire group were 40.5% and 31.3%, respectively. To evaluate the effectiveness of dose escalation, a specific comparison of patients who received b.i.d. radiation after mastectomy and completion of adjuvant chemotherapy was performed. There were 32 patients treated b.i.d. to 60 Gy in the old series versus 39 patients treated b.i.d. to 66 Gy in the new series. There was an significant improvement in the rate of locoregional control for the b.i.d. patients for the old vs. new series, from 57.8% to 84.3% and from 57.8% to 77.0% (p = 0.028) at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Chemotherapy regimens did not change significantly during this time period.Long-term complications of radiation, such as arm edema more than 3 cm (7 patients), rib fracture (10 patients), severe chest wall fibrosis (4 patients), and symptomatic pneumonitis (5 patients), were comparable in the two groups, indicating that the dose escalation did not result in increased morbidity. Significant differences in the rates of locoregional control (p = 0.03) and overall survival (p = 0.03), and a trend of better disease-free survival (p = 0.06) were also observed that favored the recently treated patients receiving the higher doses of irradiation. CONCLUSION: Twice-daily postmastectomy radiation to a total of 66 Gy for patients with inflammatory breast cancer resulted in improved locoregional control, disease free survival, and overall survival, and was well tolerated.

Adult↗