BACKGROUND: Thoroughness in a given health information system is one of its most important quality indicators. In Spain, in approximately 30% of serious occupational injuries, there is no information on the final outcome. AIM: To assess underreporting of fatal occupational injuries in Catalonia. METHODS: All serious occupational injuries (excluding commuting ...

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Neurotrauma Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury performed a comprehensive search and critical review of the literature published between 1980 and 2002 to assemble the best evidence on the epidemiology, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury. Our primary sources of literature ...

STUDY DESIGN: This is a case report of traumatic anterior atlantoaxial subluxation occurring in a professional rugby athlete with a literature review. OBJECTIVE: To report a rare case of traumatic anterior atlantoaxial subluxation in a professional rugby athlete. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Atlantoaxial subluxation occurring in a professional athlete is ...

Dysphagia, or the inability to swallow normally, is a feature of a number of neurological conditions. It is found in both paediatric and adult populations, but the scope of this article is limited to the adult neurogenic population. The normal swallow is a complex and highly coordinated activity, any part ...

To our knowledge, we are reporting the first case of a pectoralis major tendon avulsion from rappelling. The mechanism of injury in this case differs biomechanically from the commonly associated activity of bench pressing. The patient's initial presentation, course of corrective treatment, and postoperative rehabilitation is discussed in detail. A ...

The introduction of biliary laparoscopic surgery led to an increase in the incidence of liver hilum injuries. These types of lesions are very serious, because they can lead to secondary biliary cirrhosis or fulminant hepatic failure and the need for liver transplantation (LT). We present three cases of liver hilum ...

A rare case of double epiphyseal injuries in the same tibia is reported. A 4-year-old child was struck by a vehicle and presented with the above fractures and vascular compromise to the extremity. Following localization of the vascular occlusion level by arteriography, popliteal vessel anastomosis was attempted. The vascular repair ...

When compared with adults, children have unique injury patterns secondary to their anatomical differences. The susceptibility of the growth plate to injury is well-documented. "Little Leaguer's shoulder" is the term used for injury to the open proximal humeral epiphysis in the Little League pitcher. We present a case report and ...

This case report describes a strategy for assessing the suitability of orthotic prescription for individual patients with lower limb overuse injuries. The case concerns a 32 year old male soccer player with a two-year history of Achilles tendinopathy. A functional assessment performed before, during, and after a trial period of ...

As more people use the oceans for recreational purposes, encounters with potentially dangerous sea creatures are becoming more common. We report the case of a scuba diver bitten by a moray eel off the coast of Cuba. The diver received an extensive crush avulsion injury with near loss of his ...

To review the literature of the biomechanics of the windmill fast-pitch and its implications for injury. This information may be utilized in treating youth windmill pitchers. A MEDLINE search was conducted to retrieve articles regarding the windmill pitch. Key terms were then taken from the pilot search and used to ...

Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation (AOD) is a rare cervical spine injury and in most cases fatal. Consequently, relatively few case reports of adult patients surviving this injury appeared in the literature. We retrospectively report four patients who survived AOD injury and were treated at our institution. A young man fell from ...

Inspired by the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, many drinking establishments offered mechanical bull riding to their patrons. As the use of mechanical bulls became more popular, associated injuries became increasingly reported in the literature as the "urban cowboy syndrome." We report a case of severe straddle injury resulting in symphysis ...

We report a case of male genital self-mutilation related to the subject's desire to become a "hijra," the "third sex" described in East Indian mythology. The patient is the first American hijra of which we are aware. He emasculated himself, performed a penectomy, and created a perineal urethrostomy. This report ...

Three cases of a meniscal injury variant are presented, the signs and symptoms of which imitate meniscal tear, but that required no definitive intervention and resolved with conservative management. We include a review of the literature on these injuries. Three patients attended clinic giving a history and exhibiting symptoms suggestive ...

The ability to improve the technique for an accurate clinical diagnosis of the injury of interosseous membrane of the forearm (IOM) associated with forearm fractures and dislocations is important for its treatment and prognosis. Ultrasound examination of the IOM in 46 forearms from 18 normal volunteers, five patients with restricted ...

Conservative therapy for splenic injuries is widely advocated. The advantages of conservative therapy for splenic injuries include the preservation of splenic immune function, prevention of overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis, and avoidance of laparotomy and its associated early and late complications. Pseudoaneurysms of the splenic artery branch are encountered because of the ...

The fundamentals of Inherently Safer Design were not fully appreciated in the initial design (or re-design) in the following series of case histories. Two case histories involving the basic element of plant layout to minimize property damages and injury will be covered first. Simple physical separation could have reduced the ...

We describe a case of a 72-yr-old male who suffered aerodigestive tract chemical injury resulting from a probable post-processing residual of the high-level disinfectant solution Cidex OPA (ortho-phthalaldehyde) used to disinfect the transesophageal echocardiogram probe used for cardiac monitoring during general anesthesia. This case highlights the need for strict adherence ...

BACKGROUND: Recent media exposure of strokes from chiropractic manipulation have focused attention on traumatic vertebrobasilar ischemia. However, chiropractic manipulation, while the easiest cause to recognize, is probably not the most common cause of this condition. METHODS: We reviewed all consecutive cases of traumatic vertebrobasilar ischemia referred to a single neurovascular ...

When a blow to the sternum causes pain in a young athlete, the differential diagnosis can be complicated by persistence of an unfused growth center that does not normally fuse until age 18. We report a case of physeal injury in the sternum that was originally diagnosed as a stress ...

There has been disagreement in the literature about whether persons with documented neuropathology can be diagnosed as malingering. To address this question, we present three moderate severe traumatic brain injury patients who were evaluated in the context of litigation who met the Slick, Sherman, and Iverson (1999) criteria for a ...

BACKGROUND: Injury to the abdominal aorta after blunt trauma is uncommon. When this injury results in complete vessel occlusion, the presentation is dramatic. Timely intervention is essential. METHODS: After a case report, we examined all reported cases of complete occlusion after blunt injury to the abdominal aorta and reviewed the ...

Thrombotic disease of the vertebrobasilar circulation is associated with a poor prognosis. It may occur in trauma patients, especially those with neck injuries and even several months after the initial insult. We report on the case of a young polytrauma patient, victim of a traffic accident, with associated cervical and ...

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is associated with an increase in biliary injuries, particularly in acute inflammatory conditions. The cystic lymph node enlarges in most cases of acute cholecystitis. Staying lateral to the node avoids major bile duct injury during dissection of the cystic duct and cystic artery. An enlarged cystic node can ...

We report an unusual case of a posttraumatic evisceration of small and large bowel through 2 holes in the anterior abdominal wall after a motor vehicle accident. Prompt adequate management consists of reestablishing the perfusion of the eviscerated organ if the blood supply is compromised, performing a full laparotomy to ...

Anti-convulsant medications have been employed to treat behavioural disorders resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there is a paucity of literature investigating the use of lamotrigine to treat aggression and agitation in patients with TBI. In a single case study design, the present study examined the effectiveness of lamotrigine ...

"Tug-of-war" may cause a variety of sports injuries, which has rarely been reported previously. This report described an uncommon case of a previously fit 64-year-old male who presented with abrupt onset of loss of consciousness after falling down in a game of massive tug of war including 1,500 participants as ...

This article focuses on the issues related to recurrent athletic head injuries; specifically, when cumulative exponential injury or the second impact syndrome may be anticipated. Case histories and research studies are used to illustrate the salient points. A signs-and-symptoms checklist for use in concussion evaluation and management is included. Finally, ...

Recent development of ultrasonographic equipment has allowed improved spatial resolution for visualizing normal and pathologic conditions of peripheral nerves. Regarding the brachial plexus, only ultrasonographic studies that have described the normal appearance have been reported. To the best of our knowledge, no case report regarding the ultrasonographic description of a ...

Peacetime assault-related injuries amongst soldiers are common. Whilst the majority of incidents of assault do not result in permanent physical incapacity, some may be devastating, ruining careers and lives. Here we describe one such injury. There is no national register of such injuries; they may, therefore, be under-reported.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol is associated with intentional injury, but most studies have operationalized it as alcoholism and have not examined acute exposure. The study aimed to clarify the relative contributions of drinking over a few hours and of alcohol use disorders to the risk of intentional injury inflicted by another person. ...

Previous reports have indicated that injuries involving augers (screw conveyors) are a serious problem in agriculture, but to date on-site engineering inspections linking injuries to mechanical and procedural aspects have not been available. This article details four events involving injuries as the result of being entangled in auger flighting. In ...

Occipital condyle fractures (OCF) are seldom described in children, with only 14 cases reported in the literature. We report the observation of a 13-year-old child in whom such a fracture was diagnosed. A review of the paediatric cases allowed us to identify the clinical features of OCF in children. The ...

An adult was attacked by an ostrich and suffered severe ocular and periocular injury, with permanent loss of vision. Fragments of ostrich beak were removed from the right periorbital laceration. Unprovoked severe bird injuries are rare. To the best of our knowledge, ocular injury caused by an ostrich has never ...

Histological changes of the skin following electrical injury with a stun gun have rarely been described. We report the case of a 61-year-old man who died after having been tortured with a stun gun during a robbery. At autopsy two reddish, dot-like lesions where found on the chest and histological ...

We report the case of a policeman who suffered a severe head injury to the right temporoparietal lobe while driving a police car. Four years later, the patient developed a neoplasm at the precise site of the meningocerebral scar. Histological examination confirmed a glioblastoma multiforme adjacent to the dural scar. ...

Pediatric impalement injuries to the rectum are rare, and delays in diagnosis can be life threatening. We report the case of a young girl who was accidentally impaled on a dive stick. A review of historical aspects of rectal trauma and current management techniques are discussed. Rectal injuries in the ...

OBJECTIVE: This article presents an updated review of the literature of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (Factitious Disorder by Proxy, MBP). METHOD: Four hundred fifty-one cases of MBP were analyzed from 154 medical and psychosocial journal articles. RESULTS: Typical victims may be either males or females, usually 4 years of age ...

This report illustrates Croatia's experience with the terrorist attack in the city of Rijeka in October 1995. Also, the intention of this report is to outline how emergency services were functioning in this sudden-onset situation. The medical documentation of 27 wounded citizens in the attack was analyzed and the appearance ...

According to the Turkish Penal Code, Section 456, an assailant is punished in a correlation to the severity of the victim's injury. In this study, the injury scale used in Turkey in the basis code 456 is compared with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). For this aim, a total of 984 ...

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) is a sympathetic amine used in over-the-counter cold remedies and weight-control preparations worldwide. Its use has been associated with hypertensive episodes and hemorrhagic strokes in younger women. Several reports have linked the abuse of PPA with myocardial injury, especially when overdose is involved. We report here the first ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate severe upper extremity injuries resulting from frontal automobile crashes and to determine the effects of frontal airbags. The National Automotive Sampling System database files from 1993 to 2000 were examined in a study that included 25,464 individual cases that occurred in the ...

Iliotibial band friction syndrome (ITBFS) is a common overuse injury reported to afflict 1.6% to 12% of runners. It results from an inflammatory response secondary to excessive friction that occurs between the lateral femoral epicondyle and the iliotibial band. Initial treatments include rest, anti-inflammatory medication, modalities (ice or heat), stretching, ...

INTRODUCTION: Cold weather has been recognized in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a potential medical and operational threat to the soldier. Although regulations have been issued to cope with this situation, every year about 20 cases of hypothermia (T(core) < 35 degrees C) and peripheral cold injuries are reported. ...

Head injury is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in motor vehicle crashes. Efforts to improve vehicle design, which minimize forces exerted to the occupant's head, may lead to a reduction in the frequency and severity of head injury. We therefore set out to identify mechanisms producing severe ...

Retrosternal dislocation of the clavicle is a rare injury that is easily overlooked. Significant complications can occur both immediately following the initial injury and in the long term. We report a case of a young male in which the medial aspect of the clavicle was dislocated deep into the pleura ...

We report a patient who sustained a hand injury while target shooting with a compound bow. An open metacarpal fracture occurred from the bow during the arming phase. This peculiar mechanism of injury has not been reported before. This report presents and discusses the mechanism of injury and reviews the ...

BACKGROUND: The capacity to accurately code injury event details and use the Abbreviated Injury Scale and Injury Severity Score to group injuries according to severity, underpins the audit and review activities of the trauma registries throughout the world. In the interests of transparency and benchmarking between registries, we aimed to ...

Post-intubation laryngeal dysfunction is well documented. Both common and rare patterns of injury have been described in the literature. An unusual pattern of intubation injury is described in this case report. The different patterns of post-intubation laryngeal injury are discussed as well as the possible aetiology in the case described.