Objective
To minimize the occurrence of missed injuries, the tertiary evaluation was introduced consisting of reassessment of the patient, 24 hours after admission, with: complete history, physical examination, review of exams and diagnostic testing if necessary.
Methods
Observational study evaluating trauma patients admitted to a teaching hospital in São Paulo, according to a protocol for tertiary evaluation.
Results
Between February and May 2012, for 12 weeks, 182 patients were submitted to tertiary evaluation, 100 (55%) polytraumatized and 82 (45%) were victims of low-energy trauma. Neglected lesions were observed in 21 (11.5%) patients, who had 28 missed injuries. Of these 28 lesions, seven (25%) required surgical treatment.
Conclusion
Strategies including formal tertiary evaluation, the protocol applied for assessing trauma victims, seem to be beneficial in these patients, regardless of the mechanism of trauma. The method is easily applied, effective and has low cost in identifying missed injuries in the victims of trauma.
Objectives:To determine the proportion of traumatologists who investigate osteoporosis in elderly patients with fractures and recommend secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures.Methods:We distributed questionnaires to 244 physicians attending the 2015 Brazilian Congress of Orthopedic Trauma. We determined the respondents’ profiles and assessed how they investigated and treated osteoporosis in elderly patients with fractures.Results:Overall, 32% of the respondents reported that their knowledge level regarding osteoporosis ranged from 0-5 (out of 0-10). In total, 42% of the participants reported that they usually requested DXA for elderly patients with fractures and less than 30% reported prescribing supplemental calcium and/or vitamin D. We considered physicians conducting a complete treatment for the patient as those who in addition to requesting DXA prescribed supplemental calcium, vitamin D, and specific medications for their elderly patients, and recommended non-pharmacological measures. Only 0.8% of the participants fulfilled all these criteria. In addition, 47% of the traumatologists reported that they did not treat osteoporosis directly but instead, referred osteoporotic patients to a qualified physician.Conclusion:Less than 50% of the surveyed traumatologists investigated and performed secondary prevention against osteoporotic fractures after treating an elderly patient with a fracture. Level of evidence III, Economic and Decision Analyses - Developing an Economic or Decisions Model.
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