Have a Working Knowledge of Intensive Care Unit Scoring Systems Ron Pauldine MD Severity-of-illness scoring systems are used in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting as tools to stratify risk…
Look For Missed Extremity Fractures in Patients with a Diagnosed Extremity Fracture William S. Hoff MD Missed injuries, commonly referred to as “the trauma surgeon’s nemesis,” are an expected occurrence…
Consider Treatment for Heterotopic Ossification After Trauma Constantine A. Demetracopoulos BS Frank J. Frassica MD Introduction Heterotopic ossification may occur following head or spinal cord trauma, burns, or major surgery…
Do Not “Rock the Pelvis” in a Fracture J. Christopher DiGiacomo MD Pelvic fractures from blunt force trauma are broadly categorized as either “stable” or “unstable” based on the status…
Remember that Cardiac Output is not the Same Thing as Ejection Fraction Frank Rosemeier MD Cardiac output equals the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute, whereas stroke…
Alert the Transplant Team Emergently if There is an Acute Decrease in Urine Output after a Kidney Transplant Matthew J. Weiss MD The postoperative management of a kidney transplant recipient…
Do not Talk to Families about Organ Donation Matthew J. Weiss MD Solid-organ transplantation is the therapy of choice for patients with end-organ failure. Despite numerous advances in the field,…
Know How to Estimate Burn Size and Depth John Zannis MD James H. Holmes IV MD Estimating the severity of a burn is important in treating these complicated yet common…
Avoid the Pitfalls of Vascular Access in Burn Patients Myron S. Powell MD James H. Holmes IV MD A burn patient with less than 50% total body surface area (TBSA)…
Do not Under-Resuscitate a Burn Patient Oliver A. Varban MD James H. Holmes IV MD Thermal injuries result in the release of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators at the site…
