Survival after emergency department thoracotomy in the pediatric trauma population: a review of published data

Successful Utilization of Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta in a Pediatric Patient

In the United States, pediatric trauma resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and massive hemorrhage is the leading cause of death. Although use of Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) continues to gain favor, limited data exists on use and efficacy in pediatric patients. We describe a case using REBOA in a pediatric patient with blunt abdominal injury causing hemorrhagic shock. A 14-year-old female presented via air to a level 1 trauma center post motor vehicle collision with prolonged extraction. At landing, she was hemodynamically unstable with GCS and vitals indicating severe injuries. Further assessment indicated REBOA catheter placement with advancement to zone 1. Upon surgical stabilization, REBOA was deflated and distal pulses were maintained without complication. In cases where massive hemorrhage is the major threat to survival, REBOA may improve outcomes. Unfortunately, this patient had sustained a nonsurvivable TBI, and the family decided upon organ donation.

Pediatric Aortic Injury From a BB Gun Injury Requiring Emergent Thoracotomy

BACKGROUND

The leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population is unintentional injury. Emergent thoracotomies are rarely performed in pediatric patients, especially in the very young pediatric population. We present a case of a 10-year-old male who survived emergent clamshell thoracotomy for penetrating chest trauma.

SUMMARY

Our patient sustained aortic lacerations after being shot with an air-powered rifle. Thoracotomy was performed in the emergency department. The incision was extended to a clamshell thoracotomy for repair of the aortic lacerations. He survived and made a full recovery.

CONCLUSION

This case is one of the youngest reported survivors of an emergent thoracotomy. Air-powered gun injuries can be life-threatening despite their perception as safe toys for children. Surprisingly, there is very little regulation on sale of air guns to minors in the United States. Increased public awareness and regulation of sale may prevent unintentional injury in this population.

Close to zero preventable in-hospital deaths in pediatric trauma patients - An observational study from a major Scandinavian trauma center

BACKGROUND

In line with international trends, initial treatment of trauma patients has changed substantially over the last two decades. Although trauma is the leading cause of death and disability in children globally, in-hospital pediatric trauma related mortality is expected to be low in a mature trauma system. To evaluate the performance of a major Scandinavian trauma center we assessed treatment strategies and outcomes in all pediatric trauma patients over a 16-year period.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study of all trauma patients under the age of 18 years admitted to a single institution from 1st of January 2003 to 31st of December 2018. Outcomes for two time periods were compared, 2003-2009 (Period 1; P1) and 2010-2018 (Period 2; P2). Deaths were further analyzed for preventability by the institutional trauma Mortality and Morbidity panel.

RESULTS

The study cohort consisted of 3939 patients. A total of 57 patients died resulting in a crude mortality of 1.4%, nearly one quarter of the study cohort (22.6%) was severely injured (Injury Severity Score > 15) and mortality in this group decreased from 9.7% in P1 to 4.1% in P2 (p<0.001). The main cause of death was brain injury in both periods, and 55 of 57 deaths were deemed non-preventable. The rate of emergency surgical procedures performed in the emergency department (ED) decreased during the study period. None of the 11 ED thoracotomies in non-survivors were performed after 2013.

CONCLUSION

A dedicated multidisciplinary trauma service with ongoing quality improvement efforts secured a low in-hospital mortality among severely injured children and a decrease in futile care. Deaths were shown to be almost exclusively non-preventable, pointing to the necessity of prioritizing prevention strategies to further decrease pediatric trauma related mortality.

Torso vascular trauma

Vascular injury within the chest or abdomen represents a unique challenge to the pediatric general surgeon, as these life- or limb-threatening injuries are rare and may require emergent treatment. Vascular injury may present as life-threatening hemorrhage, or with critical ischemia from intimal injury, dissection, or thrombosis. Maintaining the skillset and requisite knowledge to address these injuries is of utmost importance for pediatric surgeons that care for injured children, particularly for surgeons practicing in freestanding children's hospitals that frequently do not have adult vascular surgery coverage. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of torso vascular trauma, with a specific emphasis in rapid recognition of torso vascular injury as well as both open and endovascular management options. Specific injuries addressed include blunt and penetrating mediastinal vascular injury, subclavian injury, abdominal aortic and visceral segment injury, inferior vena cava injury, and pelvic vascular injury. Operative exposure, vascular repair techniques, and damage control options including preperitoneal packing for pelvic hemorrhage are discussed. The role and limitations of endovascular treatment of each of these injuries is discussed, including endovascular stent graft placement, angioembolization for pelvic hemorrhage, and resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) in children.

[Paediatric Life Support]

The European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Paediatric Life Support (PLS) guidelines are based on the 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Science with Treatment Recommendations of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). This section provides guidelines on the management of critically ill or injured infants, children and adolescents before, during and after respiratory/cardiac arrest.

Patterns of pediatric thoracic penetrating injuries: A single-trauma-center experience in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES

To review the patterns and outcomes of pediatric thoracic penetrating injuries in a level one trauma center.

METHODS

Retrospective chart review of pediatric patients who presented to the King Abdulaziz Medical City Emergency Department (KAMC-ED), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with thoracic penetrating injury from 2001 to 2016.

RESULTS

Eighty-nine patients had a penetrating injury to the thorax were identified. The mean age was 15.5 ± 3.6 years. The mean length of hospital stay was 3.87 ± 5 days. The most common cause was stabbing followed by gunshot. Isolated injury to the thorax was seen in 58 patients. The most common injuries sustained were pneumothorax and hemothorax. In the ED, tube thoracostomy was required in 65 patients, endotracheal intubation in 12, blood transfusion in 14, massive blood transfusion in one, pericardiocentesis in one, and ED thoracotomy in 2. Only 15 patients required surgical intervention. The overall mortality rate was 3.4%. Death was mainly caused by associated injuries to the heart, aorta and/or inferior vena cava.

CONCLUSION

Thoracic injuries represent 25% of the overall penetrating traumas in pediatric age group. Most sustained injuries can be safely managed non-operatively, with a favorable outcome. Prompt resuscitation and intervention are required to identify and manage life-threatening injuries.

European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: Paediatric Life Support

These European Resuscitation Council Paediatric Life Support (PLS) guidelines, are based on the 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Science with Treatment Recommendations. This section provides guidelines on the management of critically ill infants and children, before, during and after cardiac arrest.

Causes of early mortality in pediatric trauma patients

BACKGROUND

Trauma is the leading cause of death in children, and most deaths occur within 24 hours of injury. A better understanding of the causes of death in the immediate period of hospital care is needed.

METHODS

Trauma admissions younger than 18 years from 2009 to 2019 at a Level I pediatric trauma center were reviewed for deaths (n = 7,145). Patients were stratified into ages 0-6, 7-12, and 13-17 years old. The primary outcome was cause of death, with early death defined as less than 24 hours after trauma center arrival.

RESULTS

There were 134 (2%) deaths with a median age of 7 years. The median time from arrival to death was 14.4 hours (interquartile range, 0.5-87.8 hours). Half (54%) occurred within 24 hours. However, most patients who survived initial resuscitation in the emergency department died longer than 24 hours after arrival (69%). Traumatic brain injury was the most common cause of death (66%), followed by anoxia (9.7%) and hemorrhage (8%). Deaths from hemorrhage were most often in patients sustaining gunshot wounds (73% vs. 11% of all other deaths, p < 0.0001), more likely to occur early (100% vs. 50% of all other deaths, p = 0.0009), and all died within 6 hours of arrival. Death from hemorrhage was more common in adolescents (21.4% of children aged 13-17 vs. 6.3% of children aged 0-6, and 0% of children aged 7-12 p = 0.03). The highest case fatality rates were seen in hangings (38.5%) and gunshot wounds (9.6%).

CONCLUSION

Half of pediatric trauma deaths occurred within 24 hours. Death from hemorrhage was rare, but all occurred within 6 hours of arrival. This is a critical time for interventions for bleeding control to prevent death from hemorrhage in children. Analysis of these deaths can focus efforts on the urgent need for development of new hemorrhage control adjuncts in children.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Epidemiological study, level IV.

Nationwide analysis of resuscitative thoracotomy in pediatric trauma: Time to differentiate from adult guidelines?

BACKGROUND

Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) for pediatric patients is uncommon, and practice patterns have not been evaluated. We examined the indications and outcomes for EDT by trauma center designation using a nationwide database.

METHODS

Patients 16 years or younger who underwent EDT within 30 minutes of arrival from 2013 to 2016 were identified in the American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank. Patient demographic information, indications for EDT, and outcomes were analyzed. Outcomes were compared between centers with and without pediatric trauma center designation.

RESULTS

A total of 114 patients were identified for analysis with a mean ± SD age of 10.3 ± 4.7 years. Patients were predominantly male (69%) with a median Injury Severity Score of 26 (interquartile range, 18-42). Penetrating trauma occurred in 56%. Overall, mortality was 90% and was similar in penetrating and blunt trauma (88% vs. 94%; p = 0.34). There were no survivors among the 53 patients (46%) who arrived with no signs of life. Among the 11 patients (10%) who survived, median length of stay was 26 days (interquartile range, 6-28 days). Overall, 8% of EDT was performed at free-standing pediatric trauma centers, 45% at adult centers, and 47% at combined trauma centers. Mortality rates and indications were similar among trauma centers regardless of designation status.

CONCLUSION

In a national population-based data set, the mortality after pediatric EDT is high, and many of these procedures are performed at nonpediatric trauma centers. Regardless of injury mechanism, EDT is not appropriate in children without signs of life on arrival. Pediatric guidelines are needed to increase awareness of the poor outcomes and limited indications for EDT.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, level IV.

Thoracoscope and thoracotomy in the treatment of thoracic trauma

Objective:

To compare clinical effects of thoracoscopic surgery and thoracotomy in the treatment of thoracic trauma.

Methods:

Two hundred and fourteen patients with thoracic trauma were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, 107 in each group. The control group was treated with conventional thoracotomy, while the observation group was treated with thoracoscopic surgery. The operation-related indications, hospitalization, postoperative complications and inflammatory factor level were observed and compared between the two groups. The study was conducted from April 2016 to February 2018.

Results:

The duration of operation of the observation group was shorter than that of the control group, the amount of bleeding during operation of the observation group was less than that of the control group, and the postoperative visual analogue score (VAS) of the observation group was lower than that of the control group; the difference were statistically significant (P<0.05). The hospitalization time, time of off-bed activity and time of resuming daily life of the observation group were shorter than those of the control group, and the amount of drainage fluid of the observation group within 24 hours after operation was less than that of the control group; the differences had statistical significance (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups (P>0.05). The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-6 in both groups after surgery were higher than those before surgery, but the indicators in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

Thoracoscopic surgery can reduce pains of patients, speed up recovery, and reduce incidence of surgical infection in the treatment of thoracic trauma. It is a safe and effective treatment method, which is worth clinical application.