Contemporary Outcomes and Patterns of Injury Associated With Parachuting Accidents

BACKGROUND

Skydiving is an increasingly popular recreational activity in the United States and worldwide. While it is considered a high-risk sport, the United States Parachute Association reported a fatality of .28 per 100 000 jumps in 2022. Although mortality rates are low, the true rate of survivable injuries is unknown. Injuries requiring hospitalization are not uncommon and may be underreported in the literature. Anticipating these injuries and analyzing short-term outcomes following parachuting accidents would be useful for the development of mitigation strategies and to increase the safety of jumpers.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort review of 126 consecutive patients presenting to a Level II Trauma Center after skydiving accidents between 2016 and 2023. Patient baseline characteristics, patterns of injury, surgical procedures, and in-hospital outcomes were reviewed.

RESULTS

A total of 126 patients were included. One hundred and seventeen patients (93%) presented immediately following the accident, 65 (51.6%) were trauma activations, and 14 (11.1%) patients experienced loss of consciousness. Fractures of the lower extremity occurred in 57 (45%), fractures of the spine 48 (38%), upper extremity 13 (10%), pelvis 11 (9%). Of the spinal injuries, 10 injuries occurred in the cervical spine, 16 thoracic, 22 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 3 coccygeal spine. Eleven patients (9%) suffered multilevel spine injuries. Mean injury severity score was 7 (range 0-75). A third of patients required at least 1 surgical procedure (n = 43, 34%). Median length stay was 2 days (IQR 1, 5). Of patients who survived to our trauma center, there were two mortalities, both due to catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage.

DISCUSSION

Although the 30-day mortality rate for patient who presented to our trauma center is low, it can bear significant risks including major injury. The most common injuries were lower extremity and spinal in origin with a third of patients overall requiring at least one operation.

Usefulness of a state-legislated, comparative database to evaluate quality in colorectal surgery

PURPOSE

Colorectal surgery, a high-volume procedure, has been targeted for performance improvement to reduce length of stay. Specific postoperative quality indicators and readmission rates should be analyzed concomitantly to assure that adverse events are not associated with earlier discharge.

METHODS

From July 1, 1990, to June 30, 1997, 1,218 consecutive patients who underwent transabdominal colorectal surgery were analyzed for length of stay, mortality, morbidity, and discharge disposition. Each patient was assigned an Admission Severity Group rating 0 to 4 using a hospital-based state-legislated software system (Atlas) to validate comparative performance internally and externally. Readmission data within 120 days of discharge were available for the last 678 consecutive patients from July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1997, using Lastword (computerized medical records).

RESULTS

The annual frequencies of the 1,218 procedures were 173, 183, 175, 146, 167, 189, and 185, respectively, from July 1990 through June 1997. Severity distribution was 32 for Admission Severity Group 0, 517 for Admission Severity Group 1, 540 for Admission Severity Group 2, 128 for Admission Severity Group 3, and 1 for Admission Severity Group 4, with no annual difference (P = 0.012). There was a significant reduction in total length of stay of 3.1 (12.9-9.8) days during the seven years (P = 0.001). The overall operative mortality rate was 1.4 percent, and the morbidity was 2.6 percent, with no annual differences (P = 0.655 and P = 0.033, respectively). The disposition to home did not change (P = 0.21). Of the 678 patients followed up for readmission, 100 (14.7 percent) were readmitted within 120 days, with no annual difference (P = ().302).

CONCLUSION

Mortality, morbidity, disposition, and readmission rates were not affected by a decreased length of stay after colorectal surgery.

Correlation of pseudohypoxemia and leukocytosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Pseudohypoxemia has been reported in leukemic patients with extreme leukocytosis, and it is characterized by a low oxygen saturation on arterial blood gas analysis despite normal saturation on pulse oximetry. We report the case of a 51-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and an elevated white blood cell (WBC) count after splenectomy, his progressive postoperative pseudohypoxemia gradually improved as the leukocytosis was lowered by chemotherapy. We believe this is the first report to show a statistically significant correlation between the WBC count and the degree of pseudohypoxemia in a patient with leukemia.

Colorectal cancer after surveillance colonoscopy: false-negative examination or fast growth?

PURPOSE

Colonoscopy is the preferred method for colorectal cancer surveillance of high-risk patients. Despite its high sensitivity, polyps or cancers may be undetected by colonoscopy and later attributed to an accelerated adenoma-carcinoma sequence. This study assesses how the characteristics of colorectal cancers found at intervals between surveillance relate to the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and its prevention.

METHODS

The records of 557 patients with colorectal cancer that were diagnosed from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 1996, were reviewed to identify those patients who had prior colonoscopic surveillance within 60 months of their diagnosis.

RESULTS

There were 29 (5.2 percent) patients who had one or more colonoscopies before diagnosis of their colorectal cancer. Mean interval between diagnosis and prior colonoscopy was 23 (range, 4-59) months. The distribution of cancers included nine cecum, two ascending, three hepatic flexure, five transverse, one splenic flexure, three descending, two sigmoid, three rectum, and one anal canal. The mean tumor size was 4.4 cm for the cecum and 2.4 cm for all other locations. There were 7 Tis, 6 T1, 4 T2, and 12 T3 lesions. Six patients with T3 lesions had prior colonoscopies within 24 months of the diagnosis. Three of four patients with lymphatic metastases had tumors in the cecum. Twenty tumors (69 percent) were well or moderately differentiated. Mean follow-up was 41 (range, 7-95) months with two local recurrences and two unrelated deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

Size, differentiation, and stage of colorectal cancer in addition to the interval to diagnosis suggest that the majority of cancers found during surveillance colonoscopy followed prior false-negative examinations. Because cecal landmarks are most constant, prior photographic documentation may help to prove or disprove fast growth of cancers found in the cecum during surveillance colonoscopy.

A new technique for intraoperative enteroscopy using a 12-mm trocar

Intraoperative enteroscopy is a valuable method for localizing gastrointestinal bleeding of obscure origin. The insertion and manipulation of an endoscope through an enterotomy, however, may result in significant trauma to the intestinal wall, as well as contamination of the abdominal cavity. We have devised a new technique for the introduction of the endoscope that lessens trauma to the bowel wall and allows a complete enteroscopy with minimal contamination.

Lower-extremity saphenous vein transposition arteriovenous fistula: an alternative for hemodialysis access in AIDS patients

Arteriovenous access for long-term hemodialysis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) represents a special challenge. Many of these patients are chronic intravenous drug abusers and do not have patent superficial upper-extremity veins available for conventional arteriovenous fistulas. This group of patients is also particularly prone to infections, which contraindicates the use of prosthetic grafts. Over a period of 13 months, five lower-extremity saphenous vein transposition arteriovenous fistulas (SVTAFs) were performed. Four patients had a diagnosis of AIDS at the time of operation; all of these were intravenous drug abusers. Three patients were male, two were female, and their age ranged from 34 to 66 years (mean, 48). Three patients had a SVTAF as their first hemodialysis access, and in two it was performed after multiple failed upper-extremity accesses. Four fistulas remain patent to date, after a mean follow-up of 11 months (range, 4 weeks to 16 months). One fistula thrombosed 4 weeks postoperatively, due to a hematoma that occurred after premature venipuncture for dialysis. There were no other major complications. We conclude that SVTAF is a suitable alternative to the limited hemodialysis venous access sites, especially in the AIDS population.