Advanced trauma life support

Advanced trauma life support (ATLS) is a training program for medical providers in the management of acute trauma cases, developed kuda by the American College of Surgeons. Similar programs exist for immediate care providers such as paramedics. The program has been adopted worldwide in over 60 countries, sometimes under the name of Early Management of Severe Trauma, especially outside North America. Its goal is to teach a simplified and standardized approach to trauma patients. Originally designed for emergency situations where only one doctor and one nurse are present, ATLS is now widely accepted as the standard of care for initial assessment and treatment in trauma centers. The premise of the ATLS program is to treat the greatest threat to life first. It also advocates that the lack of a definitive diagnosis and a detailed history should not slow the application of indicated treatment for life-threatening injury, with the most time-critical interventions performed early. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma has taught the ATLS course to over 1 million doctors in more than 80 countries. ATLS has become the foundation of care for injured patients by teaching a common language and a common approach. However, there is no high-quality evidence to show that ATLS improves patient outcomes as it has not been studied. If it were studied, this would be known. The first and key part of the assessment of patients presenting with trauma is called the primary survey. During this time, life-threatening injuries are identified and simultaneously resuscitation is begun. A simple mnemonic, ABCDE, is used as a mnemonic for the order in which problems should be addressed. airway management Cervical spine stabilization is the first step, after that follow ABCD. The first stage of the primary survey is to assess the airway. If the patient is able to talk, the airway is likely to be clear. If the patient is unconscious, he/she may not be able to maintain his/her own airway. The airway can be opened using a chin lift or jaw thrust.

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Identification of biopsychological trait markers in functional neurological disorders

Serafeim Loukas

Weber et al. provide evidence in support of a stress-diathesis model of functional neurological disorders. They identify trauma history in the form of emotional neglect as a psychological risk factor, and reduced hippocampus and amygdala volume as a predis ...

OXFORD UNIV PRESS2022

Brain-controlled modulation of spinal circuits improves recovery from spinal cord injury

Silvestro Micera, Grégoire Courtine, Marco Bonizzato, Polina Shkorbatova, Natalia Pavlova, Galyna Pidpruzhnykova

The delivery of brain-controlled neuromodulation therapies during motor rehabilitation may augment recovery from neurological disorders. To test this hypothesis, we conceived a brain-controlled neuromodulation therapy that combines the technical and practi ...

Nature Publishing Group2018

Cortico–reticulo–spinal circuit reorganization enables functional recovery after severe spinal cord contusion

Grégoire Courtine, Bernard Schneider, Quentin Barraud, Léonie Asboth, Mark Andrew Anderson, Lucia Florinda Friedli Wittler, Laetitia Danielle Philippine Baud, Polina Shkorbatova, Janine Beauparlant, Galyna Pidpruzhnykova, Selin Anil, Julie Kreider, Cristina Martinez Gonzalez, Elodie Rey

Severe spinal cord contusions interrupt nearly all brain projections to lumbar circuits producing leg movement. Failure of these projections to reorganize leads to permanent paralysis. Here we modeled these injuries in rodents. A severe contusion abolished ...

2018

Gunshot wound

A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) from a gun (typically firearm or air gun). Damages may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, loss of the ability to move part of the body and, in severe cases, death. Damage depends on the part of the body hit, the path the bullet follows through the body, and the type and speed of the bullet.

Blunt trauma

Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical trauma or impactful force to a body part, often occurring with road traffic collisions, direct blows, assaults, injuries during sports, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating an open wound and bruise. Blunt trauma can result in contusions, abrasions, lacerations, internal hemorrhages, bone fractures, as well as death.

Hypovolemic shock

Hypovolemic shock is a form of shock caused by severe hypovolemia (insufficient blood volume or extracellular fluid in the body). It could be the result of severe dehydration through a variety of mechanisms or blood loss. Hypovolemic shock is a medical emergency; if left untreated, the insufficient blood flow can cause damage to organs, leading to multiple organ failure. In treating hypovolemic shock, it is important to determine the cause of the underlying hypovolemia, which may be the result of bleeding or other fluid losses.