To improve clinical outcomes, a process of field triage is needed to identify seriously injured patients and quickly transport them to the appropriate care facility.
Tag: Trauma

NSF supports research studying how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affects Americans
Irvine, Calif., May 2, 2022 — The National Science Foundation has awarded a Rapid Response Research grant of nearly $175,000 to University of California, Irvine researchers seeking to gauge the effect that the reporting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in traditional and social media outlets has on the mental health of U.S. citizens.
Association of raising US-Mexico wall with migrant deaths, trauma center admissions, injury severity
About The Study: This retrospective trauma registry study of the University of California, San Diego level 1 trauma center, which receives patients with border wall injuries from San Diego and Imperial counties, examined deaths, injuries and hospital costs after construction of…

Study: Unprecedented Increase in Number of Border Wall Falls and Trauma
Trauma physicians at UC San Diego Health attribute the rise in injuries to a height increase of the border wall at U.S.-Mexico border.
Jeffrey D. Kerby, MD, PhD, FACS, confirmed as next Chair of ACS Committee on Trauma
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Regents has confirmed Jeffrey D. Kerby, MD, PhD, FACS, as the next Chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT).
A Unique Case Highlights the Expertise of Henry Ford’s Orthopedic Trauma Team
DETROIT – In his 14 years as an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Henry Ford Health System, Joseph Hoegler, M.D., has seen his share of broken bones and crushing injuries. But the degree of trauma suffered by a local football coach from a near-fatal car accident presented its own unique challenges.
Trauma surgeon M. Margaret Knudson, MD, FACS, honored for inspiring women in surgery
M. Margaret Knudson, MD, FACS, San Francisco, California, received the 2021 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Inspiring Women in Surgery Award.
Patients with stroke symptoms are evaluated safely for both stroke and trauma with new “STRAUMA activation”
A novel hospital alert called “STRAUMA” (a dual stroke alert and trauma activation) allows patients with stroke symptoms to be quickly assessed for traumatic injuries.
TraumaChekTM: Next step in life-saving blood-assessment technology
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University are leading the development of TraumaChekTM, a hand-held medical device to quickly assess a wounded soldier’s critical clotting issues and other blood conditions in the battlefield. The new sensor, if successful and adopted in the field, would represent the next generation of their successful ClotChip®, which emergency workers can use to measure how well a patient’s blood may clot.
TraumaChekTM: Next step in life-saving blood-assessment technology
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University are leading the development of TraumaChekTM, a hand-held medical device to quickly assess a wounded soldier’s critical clotting issues and other blood conditions in the battlefield. The new sensor, if successful and adopted in the field, would represent the next generation of their successful ClotChip®, which emergency workers can use to measure how well a patient’s blood may clot.
Lifesaving Trauma Skills Course Quickly and Significantly Sharpens Rarely Used Military Surgeons’ Skills
Military surgeons must maintain a broad set of surgical skills to care for combat-related injuries, but during times of peace, these skills are rarely put to use. However, according to a new JAMA Surgery study, a two-day trauma skills course can significantly improve their proficiency and ensure they are able to continue providing optimal trauma care in combat. The study, “Surgical Skills Training and Assessment of Competency,” was led by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and published Sept. 15.
For one group in child welfare, trauma is especially common
While many parents and caregivers involved in the child welfare system suffered trauma as children, new research suggests that those with substance misuse issues as adults may have had particularly difficult childhoods.
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Trauma Division Launches Partnership with United States Navy
Representatives from Penn Medicine and the United States Navy will sign a unique agreement today marking the start of a three-year partnership to integrate members of the Navy with the Trauma Division at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC). The program, known as the Naval Strategic Health Alliance for Readiness and Performance, is designed to provide sustained experiences in all aspects of trauma care – from surgery to anesthesiology to nursing – in one of the nation’s busiest trauma centers. The eleven Navy team members bring a wealth of experience with multiple deployments around the globe that will promote new approaches and knowledge across both civilian and military healthcare.
Racial Differences in Recovery Following Sports-Related Concussion Identified in Young Black and White Athletes
Researchers examined whether race (Black or White) influences outcomes and subjective experiences in young athletes who have sustained a sports-related concussion. Of primary interest were how long it takes for symptom resolution and return to school as well as changes in daily activities and sports behaviors.
Sports-Related Traumatic Spine Injuries
Harvard researchers examined data on sports-related traumatic spine injuries (TSIs) to see if different sports activities tend to result in particular injuries. They found that accidents involving cycling are by far the most frequent cause of TSIs, followed by accidents due to skiing and snowboarding.
Trauma Informed Care can help break the cycle of violence
Trauma centers can help address root causes of violence, improve health, and reduce inequities in marginalized communities.
Healing trauma: Research links PTSD, emotion regulation and quality of life
Research from Binghamton University, State University of New York provides insight into the impact PTSD has on emotional regulation and quality of life, and points to ways to improve both.
Surgeons endorse advocacy efforts to improve firearm safety and reduce firearm-related injuries
Results from a survey of 54,761 U.S. ACS members, of whom 11,147 responded, have been published as two articles on the website of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS)
Patient trapped by fallen tree during tornado walks again thanks to UAB
Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez was pinned under an oak tree that fell on his house during a tornado in January 2021, requiring a rare, in-the-field amputation. After being fitted for a prosthetic leg, he is now able to take his first steps in nearly five months.
Traumatized People with Alcohol Use Disorder Likely Need a Range of Interventions to Address Risky Drinking
People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) who are successfully treated for trauma likely need additional interventions addressing persistent drinking patterns, according to a new study.
Healing from Post-Pandemic Trauma: Moving Forward After Lockdown
Dreams about unmasked crowds. Getting back to the routines of work, school or the everyday things we used to do. Shaking hands and hugging. Meeting without a computer screen separating the people in the conversation. Mourning the loss of lives. Anxiety about re-entering society as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic is real.
Trauma Patients with COVID-19 Face Greater Risk of Complications and Death
COVID-19 complicated patient care in a range of ways, from increased incidence of heart attacks to decreased cancer screenings. The virus also caused a six-fold increase in the risk of complications and death among trauma patients, according to new research.
Research underway to find tools for caregivers of trauma survivors to cope with anxiety, stress
An early intervention developed for caregivers of patients with serious illnesses or injuries will be tested by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Associations between head impact exposure and abnormal imaging findings in youth football players over consecutive seasons
Researchers examined the frequency and severity of head impacts experienced by youth football players and how exposure to head impacts changes from one year to the next in returning players, then compared the resulting data with findings on neuroimaging studies obtained over consecutive years in the same athletes.
Study: More multilingual and mental health staff needed to offset trauma experienced by refugees, displaced students and their teachers
The University at Buffalo study examined whether United States educational policies and practices helped or hindered school staff in supporting the needs of students who are refugees or displaced for reasons such as natural disasters.
Horror films as a reimagined space for healing
A new article examines how the depiction of a “final girl’s” struggle after survival in a horror film – how she has been vilified and dismissed, but ultimately proven right – might offer trauma survivors the chance to see a bit of themselves on the big screen.
Most pediatric spinal fractures related to not wearing seatbelts
Two thirds of all pediatric spinal fractures, especially in the adolescent population, occur in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) where seatbelts are not utilized, reports a study in Spine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope Launches Red Desk Project As Call-to-Action to Prevent Child Homicide
In a powerful call-to-action to prevent child homicides, LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope created a moving public art display: 111 red school desks on the lawn of Sinai Hospital. Each desk represents a child killed in the City of Baltimore over the past six years. The Red Desk Project is designed to sound the alarm and raise public awareness about the dramatic increase in child homicide in Baltimore City year over year and the effects these homicides have on the entire community, including other children.
Increased tourniquet use has saved lives in Los Angeles County
Tourniquet use has been consistently increasing in Los Angeles County since 2015 and is significantly associated with improved patient survival.
U.S. Army to train military healthcare personnel at UChicago Medicine’s Level 1 trauma center
The University of Chicago Medicine will become the latest premier trauma training site for U.S. Army physicians, nurses and medics ahead of their deployments in a unique partnership that seeks to share knowledge and experience.
Managing the stress of new traumatic events during the pandemic
Keck Medicine of USC experts address how traumatic occurrences affect us even more in the age of COVID-19, and how people can cope with anxiety and fear.

Childhood Car Crash Inspires UC San Diego Alumni to Donate to Pediatric Research
UC San Diego alumni make a gift of $1 million towards first-of-its-kind pediatric research. The Cathy and Richard Tryon Pediatric Facial/Psychological Trauma Research Fund will support research at UC San Diego to benefit pediatric patients who have suffered from traumatic facial deformities.
Predicting who may do best with psychedelic-assisted therapy
A new research review identifies personality traits that have been associated with positive and negative experiences on psychedelics being tested for therapeutic purposes in previous studies, information that could help predict how future clinical trial participants will respond to the drugs.

Study Finds Lower Dose of Ketamine Equally Effective in Reducing Pain
A new Loyola Medicine study found that reducing the standard dose of IV-administered ketamine in half is as effective as the larger, standard dose in reducing pain in adults.

Modified pain management strategy reduces opioid exposure to trauma patients, study shows
A pain management regimen comprised mostly of over-the-counter medication reduced opioid exposure in trauma patients while achieving equal levels of pain control, according to a new study by physician-researchers at UTHealth.

Helping children and youth cope with the crisis at the U.S. Capitol
When children and youth see violence, riots, unrest and confusing images on social media or television news, they can feel confused, afraid, anxious and angry. A social work researcher on child welfare and trauma at Indiana University, Barbara Pierce provides…

Mount Sinai Health System Launches Center for Psychedelic Research
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has launched a new center for psychedelics research. The Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research pursues a multipronged clinical and research approach to discovering novel and more efficacious therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other stress-related conditions in the veteran and civilian population.

Repeated Ketamine Infusions Reduce Symptom Severity in Individuals With Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Study offers a key finding in the development of a promising treatment

Program Expansion to Address Increase of Impaired Driving During Global COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine will expand a statewide program to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drugs.

Indiana University expert available to discuss how to set realistic expectations for 2021 after traumatic year
The new year is often seen as a time for closure and a fresh start, but the raging COVID-19 pandemic means the beginning of 2021 may not feel as hopeful as in years past. “There won’t be one moment where…

Bringing harmony to chaos: UTHealth trauma surgeon repairs lives
By the time first responders rushed the patient to Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-TMC, life was already slipping away through a stab wound in the neck. The goal of the team: resuscitate and transfer the patient to the operating room, where Laura J. Moore, MD, with UTHealth, would reconstruct his severed blood vessels.
Preventing Physician Burnout Calls for a “Career-long” Approach
Physician wellness interventions vary widely and have yielded mixed results. This model would normalize and validate the full range of emotional reactions to occupational stress, acknowledge the universal emotional challenges and effects of patient care and empower physicians to self-identify distress, seek support and assert their needs individually and as a professional community

LifeBridge Health Launches Innovative New Center for Hope, Comprehensive Violence Intervention and Prevention Services Integrated Together Under One Roof
LifeBridge Health launched the Center for Hope, the first comprehensive violence intervention and prevention center in the nation that is part of a large regional health system. The Center for Hope brings together LifeBridge Health services around child abuse, domestic abuse and elder abuse along with community violence prevention programs, including a new Safe Streets site. The building design, which will be revealed at groundbreaking event, was created to welcome children, youth and adults into a space that fosters hope, safety and wellness, including an outdoor area for therapeutic play. The purpose of the Center for Hope is to advance hope, healing and resilience for those impacted by trauma, abuse and violence through comprehensive response, treatment, education and prevention.

New study reveals disturbing surge in violent injuries during stay-at-home orders
The social isolation brought on by stay-at-home orders (SAHO) issued in the early phase of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have a deadly and dangerous side effect: an increase in intentional penetrating injuries, especially firearm violence.
Trauma Hospitalizations Fall in Philly During COVID-19 Lockdown, But Gun Violence Rises
Non-intentional trauma fell compared to the period before COVID this year, but ratios of gun violence patients increased after stay-at-home orders were implemented, and were high compared to the same timeframe in previous years
Nurse Veteran Applies Lessons from Vietnam to PTSD in Today’s Healthcare Workforce
Joan Furey’s studies of military nurses can educate and guide the treatment of healthcare workers traumatized by COVID-19.
Exploring the golden hour: Delays in trauma treatment linked to disability and death
Some clinicians consider that after a traumatic injury, patients are most likely to survive if they receive medical treatment within one hour—the so-called “golden hour.”

University of Pittsburgh Trauma Experts Aim to Reduce Deaths by Providing Blood-Clotting Agent
The study found the drug can help the most severely injured trauma patients.
Winston-Salem trauma surgeon Dr. J. Wayne Meredith installed as the 101st President of the American College of Surgeons
J. Wayne Meredith, MD, FACS, MCCM, an esteemed trauma, thoracic, and critical care surgeon from Winston-Salem, N.C., was installed this evening for a one-year term as the 101st President of the American College Surgeons (ACS).

New artificial intelligence models show potential for predicting outcomes in trauma and liver transplantation
New applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care settings have shown early success in improving survival and outcomes in traffic accident victims transported by ambulance and in predicting survival after liver transplantation.