The conventional modes of ventilation suffer many limitations. Although they are popularly used and are well-understood, often they fail to match the patient-based requirements. Over the years, many small modifications in ventilators have been incorporated to improve patient outcome. The ventilators of newer generation respond to patient's demands by additional feedback systems. In this review, we discuss the popular newer modes of ventilation that have been accepted in to clinical practice. Various intensive care units over the world have found these modes to improve patient ventilator synchrony, decrease ventilator days and improve patient safety. The various modes discusses in this review are: Dual control modes (volume assured pressure support, volume support), Adaptive support ventilation, proportional assist ventilation, mandatory minute ventilation, Bi-level airway pressure release ventilation, (BiPAP), neurally adjusted ventilatory assist and NeoGanesh. Their working principles with their advantages and clinical limitations are discussed in brief.

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Chlorfenapyr has been used worldwide for agricultural pest control since 1995. Despite its widespread use, acute human poisoning data are insufficient; only a small number of fatalities from chlorfenapyr poisoning have been reported. The signs and symptoms of chlorfenapyr toxicity include nausea, vomiting, fever, rhabdomyolysis, among others. In addition, central nervous system effects in association with delayed toxicity have also been observed. Here, we detail a fatality resulting from delayed chlorfenapyr toxicity following the ingestion of a small amount of pesticide.

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Background: Degloving soft-tissue injuries are serious and debilitating conditions. Deciding on the most appropriate treatment is often difficult. However, their impact on patients' outcomes is frequently underestimated. Objectives: We aimed to study the incidence, clinical presentation, management and outcome of degloving soft-tissue injuries. Materials and Methods: We conducted a narrative traditional review using the key words; "degloving injury" and "soft-tissue injuries" through search engines PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus. Results: There are several therapeutic options for treating degloving soft-tissue injuries; however, no evidence-based guidelines have been published on how to manage degloving soft-tissue injuries, although numerous articles outline the management of such injuries. Conclusion: Degloving soft-tissue injuries are underreported and potentially devastating. They require early recognition, and early management. A multidisciplinary approach is usually needed to ensure the effective rehabilitation of these patients.

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Context: The scope of ultrasound is emerging in medical science, particularly outside traditional areas of radiology practice. Aims: We designed this study to evaluate feasibility of bedside sonography as a tool for airway assessment and to describe sonographic anatomy of airway. Settings and Design: A prospective, clinical study. Materials and Methods: We included 100 adult, healthy volunteers of either sex to undergo airway imaging systemically starting from floor of the mouth to the sternal notch in anterior aspect of neck by sonography. Results: We could visualize mandible and hyoid bone as a bright hyperechoic structure with hypoechoic acoustic shadow underneath. Epiglottis, thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, and tracheal rings appeared hypoechoic. Vocal cords were visualized through thyroid cartilage. Interface between air and mucosa lining the airway produced a bright hyperechoic linear appearance. Artifacts created by intraluminal air prevented visualization of posterior pharynx, posterior commissure, and posterior wall of trachea. Conclusions: Ultrasound is safe, quick, noninvasive, repeatable, and bedside tool to assess the airway and can provide real-time dynamic images relevant for several aspects of airway management.

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Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is a complex clinical syndrome with a broad array of potential etiologies that vary with age. We present our experience of acute onset lower motor neuron paralysis. Materials and Methods: One hundred and thirty-three consecutive adult patients presenting with weakness of duration less than four weeks over 12 months period were enrolled. Detailed history, clinical examination, and relevant investigations according to a pre-defined diagnostic algorithm were carried out. The patients were followed through their hospital stay till discharge or death. Results: The mean age was 33.27 (range 13-89) years with male preponderance (67.7%). The most common etiology was neuroparalytic snake envenomation (51.9%), followed by Guillain Barre syndrome (33.1%), constituting 85% of all patients. Hypokalemic paralysis (7.5%) and acute intermittent porphyria (4.5%) were the other important conditions. We did not encounter any case of acute polio mylitis in adults. In-hospital mortality due to respiratory paralysis was 9%. Conclusion: Neuroparalytic snakebite and Guillain Barre syndrome were the most common causes of acute flaccid paralysis in adults in our study.

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Background: The knowledge and skills about the basic life support (BLS) and the advanced life support are the most important determining factors of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) success rates. Objectives: To determine the level of awareness on BLS and skills among undergraduate and postgraduate students of medical and dental profession, as well as nursing students and interns in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in South India. The awareness level on BLS and factors associated which include age, sex, level of training (undergraduate, internship, and postgraduate groups), course of study (nursing, dental, and medical groups), and previous exposure to BLS were assessed by using a structured questionnaire. The association of these variables with awareness level was assessed by independent t test, analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis. Results: Among 520 study subjects, 229 were students, 171 were interns, and 120 were postgraduate students. The overall mean score of awareness was 4.16 ± 1.40 (score range: 0-10). Age, sex, level of training, course of study, and previous exposure to BLS were significantly associated with awareness level in univariate analysis (P < 0.05). Linear regression model also showed that all the above variables were significantly associated with awareness level (P < 0.05). About 322 (61.9%) subjects attributed lack of awareness about BLS to lack of available professional training. About 479 (92.1%) responded that BLS training should be a part of medical curriculum. Conclusion: Awareness level on BLS is below average indicating the importance of professional training at all levels in a tertiary care health institution.

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Background: Emergency Department (ED) of tertiary health care institute in India is mostly overcrowded, over utilized and inappropriately staffed. The challenges of overcrowded EDs and ill-managed patient flow and admission processes result in excessively long waits for patients. Aim: The objective of the present study was to analyze the patient flow system by assessing the arrival and waiting time distribution of patients in an Emergency out Patient Department (EOPD). Materials and Methods: This short cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the EOPD of a Tertiary level health care Institution in North India in the month of May, 2011. The data was obtained from 591 patients, who were present in the EOPD during the month of May, 2011. The waiting time, inter arrival time between two consecutive patients were calculated in addition to the daily census data (discharge rate, admission rate and transfer out rates etc.) of the emergency. Results: Arrival time pattern of patients in the EOPD was highly stochastic with the peak arrival hours to be "9.00-12.00 h" in which around 26.3% patients arrived in the EOPD. The primary waiting areas of patients included patients "under observation" (29.6%); "waiting for routine diagnostic tests" (16.4%) and "waiting for discharge" (14.6%). Around 71% patients were waiting due to reasons within emergency complex. Conclusion: The patient flow of the ED could only be addressed by multifaceted, multidisciplinary and hospital wide approach.

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Emergency medicine services and training in Emergency Medicine (EM) has developed to a large extent in developed countries but its establishment is far from optimal in developing countries. In India, Medical Council of India (MCI) has taken great steps by notifying EM as a separate specialty and so far 20 medical colleges have already initiated 3-year training program in EM. However, there has been shortage of trained faculty, and ambiguity regarding curriculum, rotation policy, infrastructure, teachers' eligibility qualifications and scheme of examination. Academic College of Emergency Experts in India (ACEE-India) has been a powerful advocate for developing Academic EM in India. The ACEE's Education Development Committee (EDC) was created to chalk out guidelines for staffing, infrastructure, resources, curriculum, and training which may be of help to the MCI and the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to set standards for starting 3-year training program in EM and develop the departments of EM as centers of quality education, research, and treatment across India. This paper has made an attempt to give recommendations so as to provide a uniform framework to the institutions, thus guiding them towards establishing an academic Department of EM for starting the 3-year training program in the specialty of EM.

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The Jehovah's Witness religion is a Christian movement, founded in the US in the 1870s, with 7 million followers worldwide with only 0.002% in India. There is minimal to complete absence of awareness about the existence of this community in our society. Astonishing is that fact that among medical professionals, there is almost no awareness about this unique population, regarding the fact that they completely refuse of blood transfusion even if it leads to their death. This is integral to their faith. Besides legal and ethical issues in treating these group of patients, the biggest challenge exist even in the western world is their management in trauma scenario where few options exist. We have discussed the issues and recommendations in management in trauma scenario in our Indian subcontinent.

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Background: Venous thromboembolic prophylaxis (VTEp) is often delayed following traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet animal data suggest that it may reduce cerebral inflammation and improve cognitive recovery. We hypothesized that earlier VTEp initiation in severe TBI patients would result in more rapid neurologic recovery and reduced progression of brain injury on radiologic imaging. Study Design: Medical charts of severe TBI patients admitted to a level 1 trauma center in 2009-2010 were queried for admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), head Abbreviated Injury Scale, Injury Severity Score (ISS), osmotherapy use, emergency neurosurgery, and delay to VTEp initiation. Progression (+1 = better, 0 = no change, −1 = worse) of brain injury on head CTs and neurologic exam (by bedside MD, nurse) was collected from patient charts. Head CT scan Marshall scores were calculated from the initial head CT results. Results: A total of 22, 34, and 19 patients received VTEp at early (<3 days), intermediate (3-5 days), and late (>5 days) time intervals, respectively. Clinical and radiologic brain injury characteristics on admission were similar among the three groups (P > 0.05), but ISS was greatest in the early group (P < 0.05). Initial head CT Marshall scores were similar in early and late groups. The slowest progression of brain injury on repeated head CT scans was in the early VTEp group up to 10 days after admission. Conclusion: Early initiation of prophylactic heparin in severe TBI is not associated with deterioration neurologic exam and may result in less progression of injury on brain imaging. Possible neuroprotective effects of heparin in humans need further investigation.

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Background: Trauma injury is the leading cause of mortality and hospitalization worldwide and the leading cause of potential years of productive life lost. Patients with multiple injuries are prevalent, increasing the complexity of trauma care and treatment. Better understanding of the nature of trauma risk and outcome could lead to more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 1178 trauma patients with Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 9, who were admitted to the Acute and Emergency Care of an acute care hospital between January 2011 and December 2012. The statistical analysis included calculation of percentages and proportions and application of test of significance using Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test where appropriate. Results: Over the study period, 1178 patients were evaluated, 815 (69.2%) males and 363 (30.8%) females. The mean age of patients was 52.08 ± 21.83 (range 5-100) years. Falls (604; 51.3%) and road traffic accidents (465; 39.5%) were the two most common mechanisms of injury. Based on the three most common mechanisms of injury, i.e. fall on the same level, fall from height, and road traffic accident, the head region (484; 45.40%) was the most commonly injured in the body, followed by lower limbs (377; 35.37%) and thorax (299; 28.05%). Conclusion: Fall was the leading cause of injury among the elderly population with road traffic injuries being the leading cause among the younger group. There is a need to address the issues of injury control and prevention in these areas.

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Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) has become the standard of care for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures undertaken in the Emergency Department (ED). In the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) of King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), which is a major teaching hospital in Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we developed a standard protocol for PSA since 2005. The aim of this article is to report the experience at KKUH in pediatric PSA. Objectives: To report the experience at KKUH in pediatric PSA. Materials and Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study of all cases who underwent PSA for painful procedures in Pediatric Emergency at KKUH from December 2005 to July 2008. Results: A total of 183 patients were reviewed. 179 patients were analyzed. Age ranges from 4 months to 13 years (mean 6 years). Nearly 66% were male. Ketamine was the most commonly used drug. Reduction of fracture/dislocation was the most common indication for sedation. Adverse events were identified in only 5.6% of patients. Vomiting was the most common recorded side-effect. The length of stay in the ED was ranging from 28 to 320 min (mean 111 min). Conclusion: Intravenous Ketamine is a consistently effective method of producing a rapid, brief period of adequate sedation and analgesia in children in the ED with no major side-effects noted in our experience.

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Background: The implementation of seat belt legislation has led to an increase in the frequency of isolated sternal fractures (ISFs) in motor vehicle crash. Aims: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of our tertiary center in order to find out the frequency of ISFs, review our experience in their management, and define the mean length of hospitalization. Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to April 2012, 64 patients were admitted to the accident and emergency department of the University Hospital of Larissa, Greece, suffering from sternal fractures (SFs). Of these 64 patients, 45 had sustained ISF, while the remaining 19 had SF and additional injuries (intrathoracic and extrathoracic). The files of these 45 patients were further investigating as concerning the mechanism of injury, hospitalization days, morbidity, and mortality. Results: All the patients had been involved in motor vehicle crashes and most of them were wearing seat belts during the accident (91%). The hospital length of stay (LOS) was 1.85 ± 1.67. All the patients had upon admission chest radiograms, serial electrocardiographs (ECGs), echocardiograms, and cardiac enzyme levels. Two patients had abnormal ECG and abnormal cardiac enzymes which contributed in prolonged hospitalization. However, there was no incidence of cardiac complications or deaths. Conclusions: ISFs, with normal electrocardiogram, cardiac enzymes, and chest X-ray in the absence of complications, require no further investigation.

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A 20-year-old female with Proteus syndrome sustained splenic injury after fall from a bike. She was initially managed non-operatively at a different hospital for three days and was then referred to our level I trauma center in view of increasing abdominal pain and distention. On admission in the Emergency Department (ED), her pulse rate was 120 per minute and blood pressure was 108/68 mm Hg. Clinical examination showed a distended abdomen with left hypochondrial pain. Ultrasonogram (USG) and Computed Tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed splenomegaly and grade III splenic injury with significant hemoperitoneum. Her hemoglobin was 2.9 g/dl with packed cell volume (PCV) of 12%. In view of low hemoglobin and possibility of pathologic spleen, splenectomy was done. Microscopic examination of the spleen showed hemangiolymphangioma. The patient was discharged on the 5 ^th post-operative day and is doing well at 6 months of follow-up.

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Emergency responders may be exposed to a variety of fumes, gases, and particulates during the course of their job that can affect pulmonary function (PF) and require the use of respiratory protection. This investigation used occupational health monitoring examination data to characterize PF in a population currently employed as emergency responders. PF tests for workers who required health examinations to ensure fitness for continued respirator use were compared to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III Raw Spirometry database to determine if decreased PF was associated with employment as an emergency responder. The results of this research indicated that the emergency responders experienced a modest, but statistically significant, increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) mean values over the NHANES III population in both total and stratified analyses, including stratification by age, gender, height, and smoking history. Results are likely due to a combination of effectively controlled exposures in the workplace, and the healthy worker effect among long-term workers. PF testing required by the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) has substantial utility for conducting occupational surveillance at the population level. In this investigation, we were able to quickly evaluate if abnormal PF existed in an industrial sector known to have exposures that, when uncontrolled, can lead to PF impairment.

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Background: Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to increase following hemorrhagic shock (HS). Peroxynitrite is produced by the reaction of NO with reactive oxygen species, leads to nitrosative stress mediated organ injury. We examined the protective effects of a potent inhibitor of NO synthase, aminoguanidine (AG), on myocardial and multiple organ structure in a rat model of HS. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats (300-350 g) were assigned to 3 experimental groups (n = 6 per group): (1) Normotensive rats (N), (2) HS rats and (3) HS rats treated with AG (HS-AG). Rats were hemorrhaged over 60 min to reach a mean arterial blood pressure of 40 mmHg. Rats were treated with 1 ml of 60 mg/kg AG intra-arterially after 60 min HS. Resuscitation was performed in vivo by the reinfusion of the shed blood for 30 min to restore normo-tension. Biopsy samples were taken for light and electron microscopy. Results: Histological examination of hemorrhagic shocked untreated rats revealed structural damage. Less histological damage was observed in multiple organs in AG-treated rats. AG-treatment decreased the number of inflammatory cells and mitochondrial swollen in myocardial cells. Conclusion: AG treatment reduced microscopic damage and injury in multiple organs in a HS model in rats.

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A 59-year-old man with end-stage renal disease was brought to our emergency department with complaints of headache, nausea, dysarthria, tic, and weakness involving the bilateral arms and legs. He had the similar episode 4 month before, when he was treated elsewhere. The patient had received hemodialysis three times per week. His medications included for hypertension. On examination at his arrival, he was alert with reduced concentration and incoherent thoughts. The blood pressure was 181/87 mmHg and other vital signs were normal. Neurological findings showed slight dysarthria and slow movements but no other abnormalities. Laboratory data showed increased serum creatinine and potassium presumably for a session of periodical hemodialysis but normal sodium concentration. His cerebrospinal fluid examination was normal. We treated him by hemodialysis. Diagnosis of PRES was most likely because of the clinical features and the MRI findings. His symptoms had disappeared immediately and completely after we controlled high blood pressure. MRI on 13 days after admission showed the improvement of the abnormal findings. Although the pathophysiology of PRES is incompletely understood, renal failure was known as one of the risk factors. A relative lack of sympathetic innervation of posterior circulation could not protect the area when severe hypertension makes auto-regulatory control collapsed. However, PRES of the brainstem is uncommon although the posterior circulation involves it. Because control of his hypertension was not appropriate in the outpatient settings before this event, it could have contributed to the recurrence in this patient.

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Penetrating cardiac injuries are rarely reported in the literature. Foreign bodies are rarely seen in the heart and most patients with penetrating cardiac injuries die from hemorragic or pericardial tamponade before arriving at the hospital. Bedside ultrasonography is a highly valuable and readily learned tool that has expanded rapidly since its introduction more than 20 years ago. Our case was a 23-year-old convict brought to the emergency department (ED) with a history of continuous chest pain in the upper area of the left side of the chest for one week. Focused Cardiac Sonography (FOCUS) which was performed by emergency physician showed a strong echogenic linear structure with comet tail artifact, free floating in the mid-segment of the left ventricule. Exact localizations of the paperclips within the chest was obtained with multidetector computed tomography and one of them was seen in the left ventricular cavity. FOCUS plays a crucial role in these patients by diagnosing the injury and detecting the complications in emergency department.

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Background: Risk-adjusted mortality is widely used to benchmark trauma center care. Patients presenting with isolated hip fractures (IHFs) are usually excluded from these evaluations. However, there is no standardized definition of an IHF. We aimed to evaluate whether there is consensus on the definition of an IHF used as an exclusion criterion in studies evaluating the performance of trauma centers in terms of mortality. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic review of observational studies. We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, TRIP Database, and PROQUEST for cohort studies that presented data on mortality to assess the performance of trauma centers and excluded IHF. A standardized, piloted data abstraction form was used to extract data on study settings, IHF definitions and methodological quality of included studies. Consensus was considered to be reached if more than 50% of studies used the same definition of IHF. Results: We identified 8,506 studies of which 11 were eligible for inclusion. Only two studies (18%) used the same definition of an IHF. Three (27%) used a definition based on Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) Codes and five (45%) on International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Four (36%) studies had inclusion criteria based on age, five (45%) on secondary injuries, and four (36%) on the mechanism of injury. Eight studies (73%) had good overall methodological quality. Conclusions: We observed important heterogeneity in the definition of an IHF used as an exclusion criterion in studies evaluating the performance of trauma centers. Consensus on a standardized definition is needed to improve the validity of evaluations of the quality of trauma care.

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