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Background: A fractional carbon dioxide (CO2) laser can improve the appearance of burn scars. In addition, tranexamic acid (TXA) inhibits melanin production for whitening effects. Laser-assisted drug delivery (LADD) technology utilizes lasers to enhance the percutaneous absorption of drugs. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of a fractional CO2 laser in combination with TXA can further improve pigmentation in burn scars. Methods: This prospective, randomized, single-blinded, split-body study included patients aged 20 years and older who had burn scars with associated hyperpigmentation for more than 6 months. A total of 12 patients were included between September 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020. For each patient, their pigmented burn scar was divided into two sides along the midline. One scar side received fractional CO2 laser alone, and the other combined fractional CO2 laser and topically applied TXA solution. Treatment sessions were conducted monthly for a total of three times. Photographs were captured at baseline and 3 months after completing the 3 monthly treatment sessions. Four plastic surgeons, blinded to the treatment sides, compared the improvement on both sides of each patient based on the photographs. The patients’ reported satisfaction levels were also recorded. Results: In the physician assessments, both methods showed a noticeable improvement in scar appearance and pigmentation. On a scale of 1 to 10, physicians rated the overall improvement in scar appearance between 4.6 and 5.6 points, while the improvement in overall hyperpigmentation ranged from 6.0 to 6.9 points. The average patient satisfaction score was 8.4 ± 1.6 points. However, there was no significant difference in the improvement of outcomes between the two methods, with or without the addition of TXA treatment. Conclusion: This study shows that fractional CO2 laser treatment significantly improves burn scars and hyperpigmentation. However, adding TXA shows no clear additional benefits. Before making the final conclusion based on the results from the small patient sample size, further research is encouraged to clarify the delivery pathways in applying TXA and explore the mechanisms behind LADD.

Introduction: Degenerative cervical diseases can severely affect patients' quality of life (QOL), mental health, and physical function. While surgical intervention is a common treatment, its impact on holistic well-being, including spiritual health, has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of surgery on QOL, pain-related disability, mental health, and spiritual well-being in patients with degenerative cervical diseases. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted with a purposive sampling of thirty-five patients who were diagnosed with degenerative cervical diseases and consented to surgery. The outcomes were assessed using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Quality of Life Scale (SF-36), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9), Pain Disability Questionnaire (PDQ), and Holistic Well-being Scale (HWS) scales before surgery and six months postoperatively. The study focused on measuring the changes in patients’ physical and mental health, pain disability, and spiritual well-being, using paired sample t-tests. Results: Post-surgery, patients exhibited significant improvements in all domains of the SF-36 scores. Depression scores decreased as indicated by a reduction in PHQ-9 scores (from 18.54 to 15.00, P = 0.001). PDQ scores showed significant reductions in pain-related disability (from 79.00 to 50.26, P

Background: The stress index (SI), defined as the serum glucose to potassium ratio, has emerged as a potential prognostic indicator in some patient populations. This study aims to evaluate the predictive value of SI on the trauma patients sustained by all trauma causes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 20,040 adult trauma patients admitted to a single trauma center from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2022. The SI was calculated according to the serum levels of glucose (mg/dL) and potassium (mEq/L) upon patients’ arrival to emergency room. The enrolled patients were stratified into two groups based on an optimal SI cutoff value determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The association between SI and in-hospital mortality, as well as other clinical outcomes, was assessed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The mortality patients had a significantly higher SI (59.7 ± 30.6 vs. 39.5 ± 17.5, p

Background: Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) is a state-of-the-art large language model that has been evaluated across various medical fields, with mixed performance on licensing examinations. This study aimed to assess the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 in answering questions from the Taiwan Plastic Surgery Board Examination. Methods: The study evaluated the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 on 1375 questions from the past 8 years of the Taiwan Plastic Surgery Board Examination, including 985 single-choice and 390 multiple-choice questions. We obtained the responses between June and July 2023, launching a new chat session for each question to eliminate memory retention bias. Results: Overall, ChatGPT-4 outperformed ChatGPT-3.5, achieving a 59 % correct answer rate compared to 41 % for ChatGPT-3.5. ChatGPT-4 passed five out of eight yearly exams, whereas ChatGPT-3.5 failed all. On single-choice questions, ChatGPT-4 scored 66 % correct, compared to 48 % for ChatGPT-3.5. On multiple-choice, ChatGPT-4 achieved a 43 % correct rate, nearly double the 23 % of ChatGPT-3.5. Conclusion: As ChatGPT evolves, its performance on the Taiwan Plastic Surgery Board Examination is expected to improve further. The study suggests potential reforms, such as incorporating more problem-based scenarios, leveraging ChatGPT to refine exam questions, and integrating AI-assisted learning into candidate preparation. These advancements could enhance the assessment of candidates' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in the field of plastic surgery.

Abstract Background The effect of alcohol consumption on trauma remains controversial. The effects of alcohol on hemorrhage and peritonitis after blunt abdominal trauma have rarely been discussed. This study aimed to explore the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on the clinical characteristics, injury patterns, and outcomes in a surgical blunt bowel mesenteric injury (BBMI) cohort. Methods A retrospective data analysis was performed using trauma cases of patients who had been tested for alcohol and had surgically proven BBMI from a Trauma Registry System from 2009 to 2021. Patients were grouped according to their positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC; >0.5% vs. no BAC; less than 0.5% no BAC) upon arrival at the emergency department (ED). The injury characteristics, physiological parameters, and outcomes with respect to post-injury complications and mortality were assessed. Results In total, 142 patients with surgical BBMI were included. Of these, 116 and 26 patients were assigned to the BAC-negative and BAC-positive groups, respectively. The overall injury severity, injury pattern, and age were comparable between the groups. The patients in the BAC-positive group had a significantly lower systolic blood pressure (99 mmHg vs. 119 mmHg; p = 0.046), worse shock index (0.96 vs. 0.82; p = 0.048), and lower percentage and number of packed red blood cells transfused (34.6% vs. 57.8%; p = 0.032 and 0 U vs. 2 U; p = 0.031) than those in the BAC-negative group. Additionally, although not statistically significant, patients in the BAC-positive group had lower leukocyte counts (9,700 cells/mm3 vs. 11,600 cells/mm3; p = 0.165 ) at the ED. However, significantly reduced percentages of leukocytes ≥ 12,000 cells/mm3 (26.9% vs. 48.3%; p = 0.048) and ≥ 12,000 or ≤ 4,000 cells/mm3 (26.9% vs. 50.9%; p = 0.027) were observed in the BAC-positive group at the ED. Furthermore, the 30-day mortality rate did not show statistically significant differences, and there was a higher incidence of bowel-related mortality in the BAC-positive group (11.5% vs. 1.7%, p = 0.043). Conclusions For patients with BBMI arriving alive to the hospital, acute alcohol consumption was associated with significantly worse hemodynamic parameters, interfered inflammation status, and higher bowel related mortality rate.

Background: Trauma has a profound impact on mortality as well as short- and long-term health outcomes. For trauma patients to receive medical care in a timely manner, early identification and risk assessment are essential. The Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score (GTOS), which was created by combining age, the Injury Severity Score (ISS), and the requirement for packed red blood cell transfusion, has proven to be a valuable prognostic tool for elderly trauma patients, though its applicability to general trauma patients is still understudied. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from the Trauma Registry System at a Level I trauma center in southern Taiwan, covering the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2021. This study included 40,068 trauma patients aged 20 years and older. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, ANOVA, Mann–Whitney U tests, and multivariate analyses to identify independent risk factors for mortality. The predictive performance of the GTOS was assessed using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: The final study population included 40,068 patients, with 818 deaths and 39,250 survivors. Deceased patients had higher GTOS scores (mean 132.8 vs. 76.1, p < 0.001) and required more blood transfusions (mean 4.0 vs. 0.3 units, p < 0.001) compared to survivors. The optimal GTOS cut-off value for predicting mortality was 104.5, with a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 84.3% (AUC = 0.917). A high GTOS score was associated with increased mortality (9.6 vs. 0.4%, p < 0.001) compared with a low GTOS score, even after adjusting for confounding factors (adjusted mortality rate of 2.86, p < 0.001), and a longer hospital stay (14.0 vs. 7.7 days, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The GTOS is a valuable prognostic tool for predicting mortality in trauma patients, providing a simple and rapid assessment method. Its high predictive accuracy supports its use in broader trauma patient populations beyond the elderly. Further studies are recommended to refine and validate the GTOS in diverse trauma settings to enhance its clinical utility.

IntroductionThe easy albumin-bilirubin (EZ-ALBI) score is calculated using the equation: total bilirubin (mg/dl) − 9 × albumin (g/dl), and is used to evaluate liver functional reserve. This study was designed to investigate whether the EZ-ALBI score serves as an independent risk factor for mortality and is useful for stratifying the mortality risk in adult trauma patients.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed data from the registered trauma database of the hospital and included 3,637 adult trauma patients (1,241 deaths and 2,396 survivors) due to all trauma caused between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2021. The patients were allocated to the two study groups based on the best EZ-ALBI cutoff point (EZ-ALBI = −28.5), which was determined based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.ResultsResults revealed that the non-survivors had a significantly higher EZ-ALBI score than the survivors (−26.4 ± 6.5 vs. −31.5 ± 6.2, p

Introduction: Early identification of high-risk traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies and improving outcomes. The C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio (CLR) reflects systemic immunology and inflammation function and serves as a new biomarker for patient stratification. This study aimed to assess the predictive value of the CLR for mortality in patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI. Methods: A retrospective analysis of trauma registry data from 2009 to 2022 was conducted, including 1641 adult patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI. Patient demographics, the CLR, injury characteristics, and outcomes were compared between deceased and surviving patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify mortality risk factors. The optimal CLR cut-off value for predicting mortality was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The CLR was significantly higher in deceased patients compared to survivors (60.1 vs. 33.9, p < 0.001). The optimal CLR cut-off value for predicting mortality was 54.5, with a sensitivity of 0.328 and a specificity of 0.812. The area under the ROC curve was 0.566, indicating poor discriminative ability. In the multivariate analysis, the CLR was not a significant independent predictor of mortality (OR 1.03, p = 0.051). After propensity score matching to attenuate the difference in baseline characteristics, including sex, age, comorbidities, conscious level, and injury severity, the high-CLR group (CLR ≥ 54.5) did not have significantly higher mortality compared to the low-CLR group (CLR < 54.5). Conclusion: While the CLR was associated with mortality in TBI patients, it demonstrated poor discriminative ability as a standalone predictor. The association between a high CLR and worse outcomes may be primarily due to other baseline patient and injury characteristics, rather than the CLR itself.

Background: Existing prognostic scoring systems for intensive care unit (ICU) trauma patients require extensive data collection. The Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score (GTOS), which is based on age, injury severity, and transfusion need, has been validated for predicting mortality in elderly patients with trauma; however, its utility in the general ICU trauma population remains unexplored. Methods: This retrospective study included 2952 adult ICU trauma patients admitted between 2016 and 2021. The GTOS was calculated as follows: age + (Injury Severity Score × 2.5) + 22 (if transfused within 24 h). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to assess GTOS’s ability to predict mortality. The optimal GTOS cutoff was determined using Youden’s index. Mortality rates were compared between the high and low GTOS groups, including a propensity score-matched analysis adjusted for baseline characteristics. Results: This study included 2952 ICU trauma patients, with an overall mortality rate of 11.0% (n = 325). GTOS demonstrated good predictive accuracy for mortality (AUROC 0.80). The optimal cutoff was 121.8 (sensitivity, 0.791; specificity, 0.685). Despite adjustments, patients with GTOS ≥ 121.8 had significantly higher mortality (17.4% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001) and longer hospital stays (20.3 vs. 15.3 days, p < 0.001) compared to GTOS < 121.8. Conclusions: GTOS showed a reasonable ability to predict mortality in ICU trauma patients across all ages, although not as accurately as more complex ICU-specific models. With its simplicity, the GTOS may serve as a rapid screening tool for risk stratification in acute ICU trauma settings when combined with other data.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in trauma patients, necessitating reliable prognostic tools. The segmented neutrophil-to-monocyte (SeMo) ratio, indicative of the inflammatory response, has emerged as a valuable biomarker. This study evaluates the prognostic value of dynamic changes in the SeMo ratio in predicting outcomes for patients with moderate to severe TBI. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 1118 TBI patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit at a level I trauma center between January 2009 and December 2020. Patients were selected based on an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥ 3 in the head region. Initial and follow-up SeMo ratios were calculated upon admission and 48–72 h later, respectively. The dynamic SeMo ratio was defined as the difference between the second and initial SeMo ratios. Statistical analyses included receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the optimal threshold for mortality prediction, and comparative analysis of clinical outcomes. Results: The study cohort included 121 deceased and 997 surviving patients. Deceased patients had significantly higher second SeMo ratios (20.9 ± 16.1 vs. 15.8 ± 17.2, p = 0.001) and dynamic SeMo ratios (2.4 ± 19.8 vs. −2.1 ± 19.5, p = 0.019) than those survival patients. In the multivariate analysis, the dynamic SeMo is a significant independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality (OR 1.01, 95%CI: 1.01–1.03, p = 0.031). The optimal cut-off for the dynamic SeMo ratio was 5.96, above which patients exhibited higher mortality (21.4% vs. 8.5%, p < 0.001), higher adjusted mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 2.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.95–4.56; p = 0.005), and longer hospital stays (23.6 days vs. 19.7 days, p = 0.005). Discussion: Dynamic SeMo ratio changes serve as a prognostic marker for in-hospital mortality and hospital stay duration in moderate to severe TBI patients. A higher dynamic SeMo ratio indicates increased risk, highlighting the importance of early monitoring and intervention. Future prospective studies should validate these findings and explore integration with other biomarkers for enhanced prognostication.

Background: Traumatic femoral fractures, often resulting from high-energy impacts such as traffic accidents, necessitate immediate management to avoid severe complications. The Stress Index (SI), defined as the glucose-to-potassium ratio, serves as a predictor of mortality and adverse outcomes in various trauma contexts. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic value of the SI in patients with traumatic femoral fractures. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult trauma patients aged 20 or above with traumatic femoral fractures from the Trauma Registry System at a level 1 trauma center in southern Taiwan between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2022. At the emergency room, serum electrolyte levels were assessed using baseline laboratory testing. By dividing blood glucose (mg/dL) by potassium (mEq/L), the SI was calculated. The best cut-off value of the SI for predicting mortality was determined using the Area Under the Curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC). Results: A total of 3717 patients made up the final group, of which 3653 survived and 64 died. In comparison to survivors, deceased patients had substantially higher blood glucose levels (199.3 vs. 159.0 mg/dL, p < 0.001) and SIs (53.1 vs. 41.6, p < 0.001). The optimal SI cut-off value for predicting mortality was 49.7, with a sensitivity of 53.1% and a specificity of 78.7% (AUC = 0.609). High SI was associated with increased mortality (4.2% vs. 1.0%, p < 0.001) and longer hospital stays (12.8 vs. 9.5 days, p < 0.001). The adjusted odds ratios of mortality, controlled by comorbidities, the Glasgow Coma Scale, and the Injury Severity Score, were significantly higher in patients with a higher SI (AOR 2.05, p = 0.016) than those with a lower SI. Conclusions: Elevated SI upon admission correlates with higher mortality and extended hospital stay in patients with traumatic femoral fractures. Although the SI has a moderate predictive value, it remains a useful early risk assessment tool, necessitating further prospective, multi-center studies for validation and standardization.

Conclusion: Lower PLR is associated with greater mortality in adult patients with moderate-to-severe TBI. PLR may be a valuable measure for classifying mortality risk in this population.

Background: The Stress Index (SI), calculated as the ratio of blood glucose to serum potassium levels, is a promising prognostic marker in various acute care settings. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the SI for predicting mortality in patients with isolated moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult trauma patients (aged ≥ 20 years) with isolated moderate to severe TBI (Abbreviated Injury Scale ≥ 3 for only head region) treated from 2009–2022. The SI was computed from the initial glucose and potassium levels upon arrival at the emergency department. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between the SI and mortality after adjusting for relevant covariates. The most effective threshold value of the SI for predicting mortality was identified using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Among the 4357 patients with isolated moderate and severe TBI, 463 (10.6%) died. Deceased patients had a significantly higher SI (61.7 vs. 44.1, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, higher SI independently predicted greater mortality risk (odds ratio (OR) 6.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.66–26.99, p = 0.007). The optimal SI cutoff for predicting mortality was 48.50 (sensitivity 62.0%, specificity 71.4%, area under the curve 0.724). Patients with SI ≥ 48.5 had nearly two-fold higher adjusted mortality odds compared to those below the threshold (adjusted OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.51–2.50, p < 0.001). Conclusions: SI is a useful predictor of mortality in patients with isolated moderate-to-severe TBI. Incorporating SI with standard clinical assessments could enhance risk stratification and management approaches for this patient population.

Abstract Background Rolando fracture is a comminuted, intra-articular fracture over the metacarpal bone base of the thumb which often leads to joint instability and requirement of surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the radiological and functional outcomes of Rolando fracture following surgical fixation with a hooked embracing plate (Acumed, 1.3 mm, Rolando Fracture Hooked Plate) designed for Rolando fracture. Method We retrospectively reviewed a consequence of patients between 2018 and 2022 with Rolando fracture who received open reduction internal fixation with hooked embracing plates. Primary endpoints were the quality of radiologic reduction after the operation and peri-operative complications. Secondary outcomes were bone union, pinch and grip strength, palmar abduction, opposition and radiographic osteoarthritis over the trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint. Results A total of 5 patients were included. All patients had good quality of radiological reduction without peri-operative complications. The opposition, abduction, pinch and grip strength were nearly full-recovered for all patients with fine bone unions after 3 months follow-up. Conclusion The hooked embracing plate is a good and safe option for surgical fixation in patients with Rolando fracture. Compared with traditional method such as lag screw or mini-plate fixation, the hooked embracing plate could provide rigid fixation with fine radiologic and functional outcomes with early mobilization.

Background: Hyponatremia and hypokalemia are common electrolyte imbalances in trauma patients and have been identified to be risk factors for a fall. In addition, hyponatremia was reported to be related to osteoporosis and fragility fractures, while the association between hypokalemia and osteoporosis has only been reported in rare case reports. This study investigated the impact of hyponatremia and hypokalemia on the incidence of fractures in various body regions of adult trauma patients, using the propensity score-matched patient cohort to reduce the influence of patients’ baseline characteristics. Methods: The study analyzed data from 11,173 hospitalized adult trauma patients treated from 1 January 1998, to 31 December 2022. The study included 1968 patients with hyponatremia and 9205 without, and 1986 with hypokalemia and 9187 without. Different 1:1 propensity score-matched cohorts were generated to create the 1903 pairings of patients with or without hyponatremia, 1977 pairings of patients with or without hypokalemia, and 380 pairing of patients with both hyponatremia and hypokalemia vs. normal control patients. Analysis was conducted on the incidence of fracture in various anatomic regions. Results: Hyponatremic patients had increased odds of thoracic vertebral fracture [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.63 (1.10–2.42), p = 0.014], pelvic fracture [2.29 (1.12–4.67), p = 0.019], and femoral fracture [1.28 (1.13–1.45), p < 0.001] but decreased odds of radial and patella fractures. Hypokalemic patients showed no significant differences in fracture risk except for a decreased likelihood of radial fractures. The patients with both hyponatremia and hypokalemia showed a decreased likelihood of radial fractures and patella fractures. Conclusion: Hyponatremia may have a greater impact on the occurrence of bone fractures than hypokalemia in trauma patients who have suffered a fall. Electrolyte abnormalities should be taken into account while assessing the risk of fractures in trauma patients.

Circulating exosomes derived from polymicrobial sepsis contain various non-coding RNAs and proteins. Isobaric tags for a relative or absolute quantitation proteomic analysis of the exosomal content revealed 70 dysregulated proteins in the circulating exosomes from septic mice. Next-generation sequencing was used to profile the long non-coding RNA expression in primary cultured macrophages treated with exosomes obtained from the blood of septic C57BL/6 mice, and it was discovered that the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/miR-17-92a-1 cluster host gene (MIR17HG) pathways were activated in the macrophages. The inhibition of MIR17HG expression by RNA interference resulted in significantly decreased cell viability. RNA pull-down assays of MIR17HG revealed that ten protein targets bind to MIR17HG. Interaction networks of proteins pulled down by MIR17HG were constructed using GeneMANIA, and their functions were mainly involved in ribonucleoprotein granules, type I interferons, the regulation of organelle assembly, the biosynthesis of acetyl coenzyme A, as a signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) protein phosphorylation, and mRNA splicing. Furthermore, RNA interference inhibited MIR17HG expression, resulting in significantly decreased cell survival. In conclusion, this work discovered considerable MIR17HG overexpression in macrophages treated with circulating exosomes from sepsis-affected animals. This study’s findings assist us in comprehending the role of exosomes in modulating inflammatory responses and mediating pathogenic pathways in macrophages during sepsis.

Background: Thyroidectomy results in unsightly scarring at the anterior neck of the patient. Objectives: This prospective clinical study aimed to assess the effectiveness of laser assisted drug delivery (LADD) of topical steroid ointment for the treatment of postthyroidectomy hypertrophic scars. Methods: Five courses of a fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser combined with topical 0.05% clobetasol propionate were applied every 4 weeks to treat postthyroidectomy hypertrophic scars in ten adult female patients. The effectiveness was assessed by the patient themselves according to the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and by three different doctors according to photography evaluations before and 1 year after the first treatment. Results: Assessments of the scars by POSAS revealed significant improvements in terms of itchiness, color, softness, thickness, irregularity, and distorted appearance of the scars, albeit without any significant pain relief. In addition, all indicative characteristics of the scar, namely, vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area, and overall opinion, as assessed by the treating doctor and based on photographic evaluations by three different doctors, revealed significant improvements in the scars after treatment. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated that the topical delivery of steroids after fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser treatment showed an encouraging outcome in postthyroidectomy hypertrophic scarring.

Background: The subtypes of circulating white blood cells undergo relative changes under systemic inflammation; thus, the derived ratio may reflect patients' immunoinflammatory status. Under the hypothesis that change in segmented neutrophil-to-monocyte (SeMo) ratio, delta-SeMo ratio, may reflect the host's immunoinflammatory response against illness, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using delta-SeMo ratio to assess the mortality risk of patients with trauma and critical illness. Materials and Methods: A total of 1476 adult patients with trauma admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2020, were enrolled in this study. Delta-SeMo ratio was defined using the following formula: SeMo ratio at day 3 (72–96 h after admission into ICU) – SeMo ratio at admission (at admission into ICU). The primary outcome was inhospital mortality. Results: There was no significant difference in the SeMo ratio at admission between death and survival patients (18.7 ± 11.0 vs. 18.7 ± 18.4, P = 0.974); however, SeMo ratio at day 3 (20.3 ± 15.5 vs. 15.7 ± 16.0, P = 0.002) and delta-SeMo ratio (1.6 ± 19.5 vs.–3.0 ± 24.2, P = 0.034) of the patients who died were significantly higher than those of the patients who survived. The patients with delta-SeMo ratio ≥1.038, an estimated cutoff value for best predicting mortality by the plotted receiver operating characteristic curve, sustained an approximately 2-fold adjusted mortality (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27–2.66, P = 0.001) than those with a delta-SeMo ratio

Many studies on the recurrence of pressure ulcers after surgical reconstruction have focused on surgical techniques and socioeconomic factors. Herein, we aimed to identify the risk factors of the associated comorbidities for pressure ulcer recurrence. We enrolled 147 patients who underwent pressure ulcer reconstruction and were followed up for more than three years. The recurrence of pressure ulcers was defined as recurrent pressure ulcers with stage 3/4 pressure ulcers. We reviewed and analyzed systematic records of medical histories, including sex, age, associated comorbidities such as spinal cord injury (SCI), diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary artery disease, cerebral vascular accident, end-stage renal disease, scoliosis, dementia, Parkinson's disease, psychosis, autoimmune diseases, hip surgery, and locations of the primary pressure ulcer. Patients with recurrent pressure ulcers were younger than those without. Patients with SCI and scoliosis had higher odds, while those with Parkinson's disease had lower odds of recurrence of pressure ulcers than those without these comorbidities. Moreover, the decision tree algorithm identified that SCI, DM, and age < 34 years could be risk factor classifiers for predicting recurrent pressure ulcers. This study demonstrated that age and SCI are the two most important risk factors associated with recurrent pressure ulcers following surgical reconstruction.

Background. Malnutrition is prevalent among critically ill patients and has been associated with a poor prognosis. This study sought to determine whether the addition of a nutritional indicator to the various variables of prognostic scoring models can improve the prediction of mortality among trauma patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods. This study’s cohort included 1,126 trauma patients hospitalized in the ICU between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021. Two nutritional indicators, the prognostic nutrition index (PNI), a calculation based on the serum albumin concentration and peripheral blood lymphocyte count, and the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), a calculation based on the serum albumin concentration and the ratio of current body weight to ideal body weight, were examined for their association with the mortality outcome. The significant nutritional indicator was served as an additional variable in prognostic scoring models of the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS), the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), and the mortality prediction models (MPM II) at admission, 24, 48, and 72 h in the mortality outcome prediction. The predictive performance was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that GNRI (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96–0.99; p=0.007), but not PNI (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97–1.02; p=0.518), was independent risk factor for mortality. However, none of these predictive scoring models showed a significant improvement in prediction when the GNRI variable is incorporated. Conclusions. The addition of GNRI as a variable to the prognostic scoring models did not significantly enhance the performance of the predictors.

The easy albumin–bilirubin (EZ–ALBI) score is derived using the following equation: total bilirubin (mg/dL) − 9 × albumin (g/dL). This study aimed to determine whether the EZ–ALBI score predicted mortality risk in adult trauma patients in an intensive care unit (ICU). Data from a hospital’s trauma database were retrospectively evaluated for 1083 adult trauma ICU patients (139 deaths and 944 survivors) between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2021. Patients were classified based on the ideal EZ–ALBI cut-off of −26.5, which was determined via receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The deceased patients’ EZ–ALBI scores were higher than those of the surviving patients (−26.8 ± 6.5 vs. −30.3 ± 5.9, p = 0.001). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that, in addition to age, the presence of end-stage renal disease, Glasgow Coma Scale scores, and injury severity scores, the EZ–ALBI score is an independent risk factor for mortality (odds ratio (OR), 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.14; p = 0.001)). Compared with patients with EZ–ALBI scores < −26.5, those with scores ≥ −26.5 had a 2.1-fold higher adjusted mortality rate (adjusted OR, 2.14; 95% CI: 1.43–3.19, p = 0.001). In conclusion, the EZ–ALBI score is a substantial and independent predictor of mortality and can be screened to stratify mortality risk in adult trauma ICU patients.

Background: Blood immune cell subset alterations following trauma can indicate a patient′s immune–inflammatory status. This research explored the influence of stress-induced hyperglycemia (SIH) on platelet counts and white blood cell (WBC) subtypes, including the derived indices of the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in trauma patients. Methods: We studied 15,480 adult trauma patients admitted from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2022. They were categorized into four groups: nondiabetic normoglycemia (NDN, n = 11,602), diabetic normoglycemia (DN, n = 1750), SIH (n = 716), and diabetic hyperglycemia (DH, n = 1412). A propensity score-matched cohort was formed after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, allowing for comparing the WBC subtypes and platelet counts. Results: Patients with SIH exhibited significantly increased counts of monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in contrast to NDN patients. However, no significant rise in platelet counts was noted in the SIH group. There were no observed increases in these cell counts in either the DN or DH groups. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that trauma patients with SIH showed significantly higher counts of monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes when compared to NDN patients, whereas the DN and DH groups remained unaffected. This underscores the profound association between SIH and elevated levels of specific WBC subtypes.

Abstract Background During clinical practice we have noticed that some patients with hyperthyroidism have finer skin with less wrinkles, pores, and spots after thyroidectomy, and the improvement can be observed within a few weeks after the operation. However, there is no evidence or study in the literature to proof this finding. Aim and objective This study was designed to evaluate and quantify the skin characters of patients with hyperthyroidism before and after thyroidectomy. Material and methods This is a prospective study to include patients with hyperthyroidism who received total thyroidectomy between March 1st, 2018 and February 28th, 2019. The patients received blood test for T4 and TSH analysis and VISIA measurements for skin texture quantification, at the preoperative stage, three, and six months postoperatively. A total of 8 patients were included. Repeated measurement was used to determine the lab data and VISIA measurement changes before and after the operation. Mauchly’s sphericity test was performed to determine whether the violation of sphericity occurs, and the Greenhouse–Geisser correction was used when the violation of sphericity occurs. Results All the patients were female and generally healthy without systemic medical disease except the hyperthyroidism. The T4 and TSH levels were not significantly different before and after the thyroidectomy. In terms of the skin character measurements, the wrinkles, texture, pores, UV spots, and brown spots were not improved after thyroidectomy. A trend of improvement in spots, red area, and porphyrin was noted, although not statistically significant. Conclusions Surgical removal of the thyroid gland in patients with hyperthyroidism does not improve the skin quality and texture in examinations via the VISIA system.

Abstract This study was designed to compare the outcome and analyze the operation-related risk factors in free flap reconstruction for patients with primary and recurrent head and neck cancers. A 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis of the microsurgery registry database of the hospital. The primary outcome of the free flap reconstruction had a higher failure rate in the recurrent group than the primary group (5.1% vs. 3.1%, p = 0.037). Among the 345 pairs in the matched study population, there were no significant differences between the primary and recurrent groups regarding the rate of total flap loss (3.5% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.27) and secondary outcomes. This study revealed that free flap reconstruction had a higher failure rate in the recurrent group than the primary group, but such a difference may be attributed by the different patient characteristics.

Background: The ablative fractional laser can destroy the epidermal barrier and enhance the infiltration and distribution of drugs into the dermis. Objectives: This study was designed to investigate whether steroid delivery followed by the fractional ablative laser can prevent the formation of postthyroidectomy scar. Methods: This prospective split-scar design study recruited 12 adult female patients who underwent thyroidectomy between March 2018 and December 2018. The whole scar was treated with a fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser with topical 0.05% clobetasol propionate ointment only applied on the treatment side. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) questionnaire was used for outcome assessment at 1 year following the first treatment. The follow-up assessment by scar esthetic scale using digital photographs at 6 months and 1 year after first treatment was also done by three blinded plastic surgeons. Results: The POSAS revealed the improvement was not significant on vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area, and overall opinion on the improvement (all P > 0.05). The digital photographs evaluation also did not reveal a significant difference between the treatment side and control side. The overall esthetic score in the assessment of digital photographs was 4.4 ± 1.5, 4.2 ± 1.9, and 3.4 ± 1.9 at 6 months, and 2.8 ± 1.9, 3.1 ± 1.9, and 2.4 ± 2.1 at 1 year, with 0–10 indicating totally identical to significantly different comparing the whole scar with surrounding normal skin. Conclusion: This prospective scar-split study revealed that the application of topical steroid after fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser has no significant effect to prevent the formation of postthyroidectomy scar.

Background: The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) calculated as 1.489 × albumin (g/dL) +41.7× (current body weight/ideal body weight) is useful in identifying high-risk for malnutrition in elderly patients with subacute or chronic diseases. Given that trauma patients have sustained injuries in an acute condition, this study is designed to explore the association between GNRI on admission and outcomes in elderly and young adult patients with trauma. Materials and Methods: From January 01, 2009, to December 31, 2019, a total of 1772 elderly and 2194 young adult trauma patients were categorized into four nutritional risk groups according to GNRI: high-risk group (GNRI 98). Propensity score-matched patient cohorts were created in different nutritional risk groups against the no-risk group to minimize the confounding effects of sex, age, pre-existing comorbidities, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and Injury Severity Score on outcome measurements. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcome was the length of hospital stay. Results: Young adult patients with trauma were comparable in pattern of mortality outcomes and hospital stays to that in elderly patients. Analysis of the selected propensity score-matched patient cohorts revealed that both elderly and young adult patients in the high-risk group had significantly higher odds of mortality (elderly, odds ratio [OR], 6.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.00-14.03; P < 0.009; young adult, OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.45-5.11; P = 0.001) and longer hospital stay (elderly, 21.5 days vs. 12.4 days, respectively, P < 0.001; young adults, 22.5 days vs. 14.1 days, respectively, P < 0.001) than those of the no-risk group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the GNRI could serve as a useful screening method to identify high-risk malnutrition in acutely injured trauma patients, including not only the elderly trauma patients but also the young adult trauma patients.

Background: The use of helmets has been promoted worldwide to protect motorcyclists from head-and-neck injuries and to reduce motorcycle accident-related mortality. However, the results of previous studies regarding the effectiveness of different types of helmets are controversial. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of three types of helmets: half-helmets, open-face helmets, and full-face helmets, in protecting motorcyclists during traffic accidents. Materials and Methods: A total of 6991 motorcyclists, who were hospitalized between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019, were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups: those who did not wear helmets (n = 506) and those who wore helmets (n = 6,485). The latter group was subdivided according to the type of helmet used: half-helmet (n = 3,027), open-face helmet (n = 2,528), and full-face helmet (n = 930). The primary outcome was inhospital mortality. The length of hospital stay and associated head-and-neck injuries were secondary outcomes. Results: Half-helmets offered significantly less protection than full-face helmets, considering that patients using half-helmets had a significantly higher rate of the Abbreviated Injury Scale ≥ 2 injuries to the head region and significantly higher odds of sustaining subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and intracerebral hematoma than patients using full-face helmets. However, higher odds of sustaining SAH were noted in patients using open-face helmets. There were no significant differences in the Glasgow Coma Scale score after injury or in the mortality rate in patients using either half-helmets or open-face helmets compared to those using full-face helmets. Conclusion: This study revealed that half-helmets, but not open-face helmets, offered significantly less protection from head injuries than full-face helmets. However, the mortality rate and length of hospital stay after the injury did not differ among patients using the three types of helmets.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers and the main cause of cancer-related death globally. Immune dysregulation of CD4+ T cells has been identified to play a role in the development of HCC. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular pathways of CD4+ T cells in HCC are not completely known. Thus, a better understanding of the dysregulation of the lncRNA-miRNA/mRNA network may yield novel insights into the etiology or progression of HCC. In this study, circulating CD4+ T cells were isolated from the whole blood of 10 healthy controls and 10 HCC patients for the next-generation sequencing of the expression of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs. Our data showed that there were different expressions of 34 transcripts (2 lncRNAs, XISTs, and MIR222HGs; 29 mRNAs; and 3 other types of RNA) and 13 miRNAs in the circulating CD4+ T cells of HCC patients. The expression of lncRNA-XIST-related miRNAs and their target mRNAs was confirmed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on samples from 100 healthy controls and 60 HCC patients. The lncRNA–miRNA/mRNA regulation network was created using interaction data generated from ENCORI and revealed there are positive correlations in the infiltration of total CD4+ T cells, particularly resting memory CD4+ T cells, and negative correlations in the infiltration of Th1 CD4+ T cells.

Introduction. Skull fractures are often found in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although skull fractures may indicate greater force impact and are associated with local or diffuse brain injuries, the prognostic value of skull fractures remains unclear. This retrospective study aimed to assess the association between skull fractures and mortality in patients with TBI. Methods. This study included 5,430 TBI patients registered in the trauma registry system from January 2009 to December 2018. Clinical and demographic data including age, sex, trauma mechanisms, comorbidities, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, abbreviated injury score (AIS)-head, injury severity score (ISS), and in-hospital mortality were acquired. Multiple logistic regression and propensity score matching were used to elucidate the effect of skull fractures on mortality outcomes of TBI patients. Results. Compared to TBI patients without skull fracture, patients with skull fractures were predominantly male, younger, had lower GCS upon arrival at the emergency room, and had higher AIS-head, ISS, and in-hospital mortality. The patients with skull fracture had 1.7-fold adjusted odds of mortality (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27–2.25; p

This study aimed to explore differences in outcomes between these major trauma patients who were transferred and those directly transported to trauma centers. The medical information and outcome of 5,341 major trauma patients with an injury severity score (ISS) ≥ 16 who were hospitalized for treatment between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019, were collected from the Trauma Registry System of the hospital. There were 2,386 patients who were transferred (transfer group) and 2,955 patients transported directly to trauma centers first (direct group). Regarding the outcomes, there was no significant difference in the mortality rate between patients in the transfer group and the direct group (11.1% vs. 10.5%, respectively, p=0.527). However, the patients in the transfer group had a longer hospital stay (16.8 days vs. 14.3 days, respectively, p

Background: This study was designed to investigate the impact of alcohol intoxication on injury severity and outcomes of adult patients who experienced different modes of trauma. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study collected data of hospitalized patients who experienced trauma at age ≥20 years between January 1, 2009 and December 21, 2015, from the Trauma Registry System of a Level I trauma center. Patients were categorized into two groups according to their blood alcohol concentrations (BACs): alcohol intoxication (BAC of ≥50 mg/dL at the time of arrival to the emergency room) and nonalcohol intoxication (BAC of

Abstract Background This study aimed to determine the influence of ageing on the incidence and site of femoral fractures in trauma patients, by taking the sex, body weight, and trauma mechanisms into account. Methods This retrospective study reviewed data from adult trauma patients aged ≥20 years who were admitted into a Level I trauma center, between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2016. According to the femoral fracture locations, 3859 adult patients with 4011 fracture sites were grouped into five subgroups: proximal type A (n = 1359), proximal type B (n = 1487), proximal type C (n = 59), femoral shaft (n = 640), and distal femur (n = 466) groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify independent effects of the univariate predictive variables on the occurrence of fracture at a specific site. A two-dimensional plot was presented visually with age and the propensity score accounts for the risk of a fracture at a specific femoral site. Results This analysis revealed that older age was an independent variable that could positively predict the occurrence of proximal type A (OR [95%CI]: 1.03 [1.03–1.04], p

This study aimed to investigate whether changes in the De Ritis ratio (DRR) can be used to stratify the mortality risk of patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). This retrospective study reviewed data for 1347 adult trauma patients (134 deaths and 1213 survival) with moderate-to-severe TBI between 1 January 2009, and 31 December 2020, from the registered trauma database. The outcomes of the patients allocated into the two study groups were compared based on the best Delta DRR (ΔDRR) cutoff point. The first and second DRR of patients who died were significantly higher than those of patients who survived. Elevation of DRR 72–96 h later was found for patients who died, but not for those who survived; the ΔDRR of the patients who died was significantly higher than that of those who survived (1.4 ± 5.8 vs. −0.1 ± 3.3, p = 0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that ΔDRR was a significant independent risk factor for mortality in these patients. Additionally, a ΔDRR of 0.7 was identified as the cutoff value for mortality stratification of adult trauma patients at high risk of mortality with moderate-to-severe TBI.

The death triad, including coagulopathy, hypothermia, and acidosis, is shown to be a strong predictor of mortality in trauma patients. We aimed to investigate whether the inclusion of hypotension, defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 60 mmHg, as a fourth factor in the death triad would comprise a death tetrad to help stratify mortality risk in trauma patients. A total of 3361 adult trauma patients between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019 were allocated into groups to investigate whether hypotension matters in determining the mortality outcome of trauma patients who possess 1–3 death triad components compared to those without any component. Hypotension was added to the death tetrad, and the adjusted mortality outcome was compared among groups with 0–4 death tetrad components. Herein, we showed that SBP < 60 mmHg could be used to identify patients at risk of mortality among patients with one or two death triad components. Patients with one, two, and three death tetrad components had respective adjusted mortality rates of 3.69-, 10.10-, and 40.18-fold, determined by sex, age, and comorbidities. The mortality rate of trauma patients with all the four death tetrad components was 100%. The study suggested that hypotension, defined as an SBP < 60 mmHg, may act as a proper death tetrad component to stratify the mortality risk of trauma patients.

The De Ritis ratio (DRR), the ratio of serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase, has been reported to be a valuable biomarker in risk stratification for many liver and non-liver diseases. This study aimed to explore whether the inclusion of DRR at the date of intensive care unit (ICU) admission or days after ICU admission improves the predictive performance of various prognosis prediction models. This study reviewed 888 adult trauma patients (74 deaths and 814 survivors) in the trauma registered database between 1 January 2009, and 31 December 2020. Medical information with AST and ALT levels and derived DRR at the date of ICU admission (1st DRR) and 3–7 day after ICU admission (2nd DRR) was retrieved. Logistic regression was used to build new probability models for mortality prediction using additional DRR variables in various mortality prediction models. There was no significant difference in the 1st DRR between the death and survival patients; however, there was a significantly higher 2nd DRR in the death patients than the survival patients. This study showed that the inclusion of the additional DRR variable, measured 3–7 days after ICU admission, significantly increased the prediction performance in all studied prognosis prediction models.

Background: Patients with polytrauma are expected to have a higher risk of mortality than the summation of expected mortality for their individual injuries. This study was designed to investigate the outcome of polytrauma patients, diagnosed by abbreviated injury scale (AIS) ≥ 3 for at least two body regions, at a level I trauma center. Methods: Detailed data of 694 polytrauma patients and 2104 non-polytrauma patients with an overall Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 and hospitalized between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2014 for treatment of all traumatic injuries, were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System. Two-sided Fisher exact or Pearson chi-square tests were used to compare categorical data. The unpaired Student t-test was used to analyze normally distributed continuous data, and the Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare non-normally distributed data. Propensity-score matching in a 1:1 ratio was performed using NCSS software with logistic regression to evaluate the effect of polytrauma on in-hospital mortality. Results: There was no significant difference in short-term mortality between polytrauma and non-polytrauma patients, regardless of whether the comparison was made among the total patients (11.4% vs. 11.0%, respectively; p = 0.795) or among the selected propensity score-matched groups of patients following controlled covariates including sex, age, systolic blood pressure, co-morbidities, Glasgow Coma Scale scores, injury region based on AIS. Conclusions: Polytrauma defined by AIS ≥3 for at least two body regions failed to recognize a significant difference in short-term mortality among trauma patients. Keywords: Polytrauma, Abbreviated injury scale, Injury severity, Monotrauma, Multiple trauma, Mortality

Background: This study aimed to profile the clinical pictures and identify the risk factors of mortality among terminally ill patients who visited the emergency department (ED) and had signed do-not-resuscitate (DNR) consents. Methods: This prospective study employed purposeful sampling of 200 adult, nontrauma, terminally ill patients who visited the ED and signed a DNR consent between July 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012. Physiological variables were compared between fatal and survival patients using Student's t-tests after assessing the normality of the data distribution. Results: The Cox proportional regression analysis revealed that patients taking antiarrhythmic drugs and vasopressor had a 47.6-fold and 2.8-fold higher mortality, respectively, compared to nonusers and those who had a respiratory rate ≥28 breaths/min showed a 2.8-fold increase in their risk of death compared to those with a respiratory rate

Background: Electrical injuries are potentially devastating in many ways. This study aimed to profile the epidemiologic characteristics and outcome of these patients in a Level I trauma center in Southern Taiwan. Methods: A retrospective review of 34 (1.9%) patients with electrical injuries and admitted to the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Burn Center from 2009 to 2015 from all 23,705 hospitalized patients registered in the trauma registry system. The information such as patient's profile, injury characteristics and severity, description of the burn injury, associated injuries, expenditures, and outcomes were gathered. Results: There were 33 males and one female with an average age of 37.1 ± 10.4 years old. Twenty-eight cases (82.3%) were work related. The average total body surface area burned was 5.26%. The mean injury severity score was 9.8 with the median, and interquartile ranges (Q1–Q3) being 4 and 3.3–9.3. The average hospital length of stay (LOS) was 16.6 ± 14.3 days. Twenty-one patients required Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and the average ICU LOS was 20.1 ± 16.2 days. Fourteen patients underwent operations with each patient averaging 2.5 operations. There were two cases of mortality (5.9%). Although the expenditure seemed to be higher in dealing with the electrical burn patients (n = 34) than the nonelectrical burn patients (n = 1727), there were no significant differences of the average total expenditure as well as the costs of operation, examination, and pharmaceuticals between the electrical burn patients and nonelectrical burn patients. Conclusions: Most of the electrical burn injuries are work related and may associated with injuries to different body regions. With a high incidence of ICU admission and the requirement of frequent operations, the electric burn injuries still carry high morbidities with the risk to mortality.

Abstract Background Transportation by motorcycle and bicycle has become popular in Taiwan, this study was designed to investigate the protective effect of helmet use during motorcycle and bicycle accidents by using a propensity score–matched study based on trauma registry system data. Methods Data of adult patients hospitalized for motorcycle or bicycle accidents between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015 were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System. These included 7735 motorcyclists with helmet use, 863 motorcyclists without helmet use, 76 bicyclists with helmet use, and 647 bicyclists without helmet use. The primary outcome measurement was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were the hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, and ICU LOS. Normally distributed continuous data were analyzed by the unpaired Student t-test, and non-normally distributed data were compared using the Mann–Whitney U-test. Two-sided Fisher exact or Pearson chi-square tests were used to compare categorical data. Propensity score matching (1:1 ratio using optimal method with a 0.2 caliper width) was performed using NCSS software, adjusting for the following covariates: sex, age, and comorbidities. Further logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of helmet use on mortality rates of motorcyclists and bicyclists, respectively. Results The mortality rate for motorcyclists with helmet use (1.1%) was significantly lower than for motorcyclists without helmet use (4.2%; odds ratio [OR] 0.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17–0.37; p

Background: To investigate the injury pattern, mechanisms, severity, and mortality of the elderly hospitalized for treatment of trauma following motorcycle accidents. Methods: Motorcycle-related hospitalization of 994 elderly and 5078 adult patients from the 16,548 hospitalized patients registered in the Trauma Registry System between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Results: The motorcycle-related elderly trauma patients had higher injury severity, less favorable outcomes, higher proportion of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), prolonged hospital and ICU stays and higher mortality than those adult motorcycle riders. It also revealed that a significant percentage of elderly motorcycle riders do not wear a helmet. Compared to patients who had worn a helmet, patients who had not worn a helmet had a lower first Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and a greater percentage presented with unconscious status (GCS score ≤8), had sustained subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral contusion, severe injury (injury severity score 16–24 and ≥25), had longer hospital stay and higher mortality, and had required admission to the ICU. Conclusions: Elderly motorcycle riders tend to present with a higher injury severity, worse outcome, and a bodily injury pattern differing from that of adult motorcycle riders, indicating the need to emphasize use of protective equipment, especially helmets, to reduce their rate and severity of injury.

Background: Female patients present with unique physiological and behavioral characteristics compared to male patients. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the injury patterns, injury characteristics, and mortality of male and female patients hospitalized for treatment of motorcycle accident-related trauma in a level I trauma center. Methods: Retrospective analysis of motorcycle-related injuries from the Trauma Registry System was performed to identify and compare 4028 male and 2919 female patients hospitalized for treatment between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Results: The female patients were younger, less often drunken, more often wore helmets, were transported by emergency medical services, and arrived at the emergency department between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. compared to male patients. Analysis of Abbreviated Injury Scale scores revealed that female patients sustained significantly higher rates of injuries to the extremities, but lower rates of injuries to the head/neck, face, and thorax than male patients did. Female patients had a significant lower Injury Severity Score (ISS) and adjusted odds ratio of in-hospital mortality (AOR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.83–0.86) after adjustment by ISS. However, the logistic regression analysis of propensity score-matched patients with adjusted confounders including helmet-wearing status and alcohol intoxication revealed that the gender did not significantly influence mortality (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.47–1.43; p = 0.475), implying the an associated risky behaviors may attribute to the difference of odds of mortality between the male and female patients. In addition, a significantly fewer female patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and female patients had a significantly shorter hospital and ICU length of stay. Conclusion: Female motorcycle riders have different injury characteristics, lower ISS and in-hospital mortality, and present with a bodily injury pattern that differs from that of male motorcycle riders. Level of evidence: Epidemiologic study, level III.

Background: This study was designed to investigate the impact of pelvic fracture on the outcome of trauma patients. Methods: Detailed data of 512 and 20,159 adult patients with and without pelvic fracture, respectively, hospitalized between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2015 were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System of a level I regional trauma center. Two-sided Fisher exact or Pearson Chi-square tests were used to compare categorical data. The unpaired Student t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to analyze normally and nonnormally distributed continuous data, respectively. Propensity score matching was performed using NCSS software to evaluate the effect of pelvic fracture on mortality and expenditure. Results: Patients with pelvic fracture presented with a longer hospital stay, a higher likelihood of being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, and a significantly higher incidence of mortality (odds ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–3.5; P = 0.003) than those without pelvic fracture. However, the logistic regression analysis of 316 well-balanced pairs of patients with matched propensity scores (to eliminate the difference in sex, age, comorbidity, Glasgow coma scale, and injury severity score) showed that the association of pelvic fracture did not significantly influence mortality (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.6–2.5; P = 0.581). Conclusions: This study revealed that the higher odds of mortality in patients with pelvic fracture can be attributed to a combination of multiple injuries to different body regions and risk factors of the patients.

BackgroundThe shock index (SI) is defined as the ratio of heart rate/systolic blood pressure. This study aimed to determine the performance of delta shock index (ΔSI), a difference between SI upon arrival at the emergency room (ER) and that in the field, in predicting the need for massive transfusion (MT) among adult trauma patients with stable blood pressure.MethodsThis study included registered data from all trauma patients aged 20 years and above who were hospitalized from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016. Only patients who were transferred by emergency medical service from the accident site with a systolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm Hg at the ER were included. The 7,957 enrolled trauma patients were divided into 2 groups, those who had received blood transfusion ≥ 10 U (MT, n = 82) and those who had not (non-MT, n = 7,875). The odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the need for MT by a given ΔSI were measured. The plot of specific receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to evaluate the best cutoff point of ΔSI that could predict the patient's probability of receiving MT.ResultsROC curve analysis showed that a ΔSI of 0.06 as the cutoff point had the highest AUC of 0.61, with a sensitivity of 0.415 and specificity of 0.841. Patients with a ΔSI ≥ 0.00 had a significant 1.8-fold increase in need for MT than those patients with a ΔSI less than 0.00 (1.4% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.01). The larger the ΔSI, the higher the odds of need for an MT. Using the cutoff point of ΔSI of 0.06, patients with a ΔSI ≥ 0.06 had a significant 3.7-fold increase in need for MT than those patients with a ΔSI less than 0.06 (2.7% vs. 0.7%, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThis study indicated that, in trauma patients with stable blood pressure at the ER, the accuracy of prediction of the requirement for MT by ΔSI is low. However, the size of the delta is significantly associated with need for MT and a lack of improvement in the patient's SI at the ER compared to that in the field significantly increases the odds of a need for MT.

ObjectiveTo establish the composition of bacteria in mice following cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) through metagenomic analysis and investigate the role of TLRs on the composition of bacteria.MethodsTotal DNA extraction was done from the ascites, blood, and fecal samples from C57BL/6 mice sacrificed at 0, 4, 8, and 16 h, as well as from Tlr2-/-, Tlr4-/-, Tlr5-/-, and NF-κB-/-mice sacrificed at 16 h following CLP. Amplification of the V3-V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes by PCR and the Illumina MiSeq sequencer was used for deep sequencing. Hierarchical clustering of the isolates was performed with Ward's method using Euclidean distances. The relative abundance according to operational taxonomic unit (OTU) number or taxa was used to compare the richness among subgroups in the experiments.ResultsThere were 18 taxa that had significantly different abundances among the different samples of the C57BL/6 mice at 16 h following CLP. Various dynamic changes in the infectious bacteria inside the peritoneal cavity after CLP were found. While knockout of Tlr5 and NF-κB impaired the ability of bacterial clearance inside the peritoneal cavity for some kinds of bacteria found in the C57BL/6 mice, the knockout of Tlr4 enhanced clearance for other kinds of bacteria, and they presented excessive abundance in the peritoneal cavity despite their scarce abundance in the stool.ConclusionNF-κB and TLRs are involved in bacterial clearance and in the expression pattern of the bacterial abundance inside the peritoneal cavity during polymicrobial infection.

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to examine the capacity of commonly used trauma scoring systems such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) to predict outcomes in young children with traumatic injuries. Methods. This retrospective study was conducted for the period from 2009 to 2016 in Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Medical Hospital, a level I trauma center. We included all children under the age of 6 years admitted to the hospital via the emergency department with any traumatic injury and compared the trauma scores of GCS, ISS, and RTS on patients’ outcome. The primary outcomes were mortality and prolonged Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay, with the latter defined as an ICU stay longer than 14 days. The secondary outcome was the hospital length of stay (HLOS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was also adopted with the value of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for comparing trauma score prediction with patient mortality. Cutoff values from each trauma score for mortality prediction were also measured by determining the point along the ROC curve where Youden’s index was maximum. Results. We included a total of 938 patients in this study, with a mean age of 3.1 ± 1.82 years. The mortality rate was 0.9%, and 93 (9.9%) patients had a prolonged ICU stay. An elevated ISS (34 ± 19.9 vs. 5 ± 5.1, p=0.004), lower GCS (8 ± 5.0 vs. 15 ± 1.3, p=0.006), and lower RTS (5.58 ± 1.498 vs. 7.64 ± 0.640, p=0.006) were all associated with mortality. All three scores were considered to be independent risk factors of mortality and prolonged ICU stay and had a linear correlation with increased HLOS. With regard to predicting mortality, ISS has the highest AUC value (ISS: 0.975; GCS: 0.864; and RTS: 0.899). The prediction cutoff values of ISS, GCS, and RTS on mortality were 15, 11, and 7, respectively. Conclusion. Regarding traumatic injuries in young children, worse ISS, GCS, and RTS were all associated with increased mortality, prolonged ICU stay, and longer hospital LOS. Of these scoring systems, ISS was the best at predicting mortality.

Abstract Background The adverse impact of obesity has been extensively studied in the general population; however, the added risk of obesity on trauma-related mortality remains controversial. This study investigated and compared mortality as well injury patterns and length of stay (LOS) in obese and normal-weight patients hospitalized for trauma in the hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) of a Level I trauma center in southern Taiwan. Methods Detailed data of 880 obese adult patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 and 5391 normal-weight adult patients (25 > BMI ≥ 18.5 kg/m2) who had sustained a trauma injury between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System. Pearson’s chi-squared, Fisher’s exact, and independent Student’s t-tests were used to compare differences between groups. Propensity score matching with logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of obesity on mortality. Results In this study, obese patients were more often men, motorcycle riders and pedestrians, and had a lower proportion of alcohol intoxication compared to normal-weight patients. Analysis of Abbreviated Injury Scale scores revealed that obese trauma patients presented with a higher rate of injury to the thorax, but a lower rate of facial injuries than normal-weight patients. No significant differences were found between obese and normal-weight patients regarding Injury Severity Score (ISS), Trauma-Injury Severity Score (TRISS), mortality, the proportion of patients admitted to the ICU, or LOS in ICU. After propensity score matching, logistic regression of 66 well-matched pairs did not show a significant influence of obesity on mortality (odds ratio: 1.51, 95 % confidence interval: 0.54–4.23 p = 0.438). However, significantly longer hospital LOS (10.6 vs. 9.5 days, respectively, p = 0.044) was observed in obese patients than in normal-weight patients, particularly obese patients with pelvic, tibial, or fibular fractures. Conclusion Compared to normal-weight patients, obese patients presented with different injury characteristics and bodily injury patterns but no difference in mortality.

BACKGROUND:The purpose of this study was to build a model of machine learning (ML) for the prediction of mortality in patients with isolated moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS:Hospitalized adult patients registered in the Trauma Registry System between January 2009 and December 2015 were enrolled in this study. Only patients with an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥ 3 points related to head injuries were included in this study. A total of 1734 (1564 survival and 170 non-survival) and 325 (293 survival and 32 non-survival) patients were included in the training and test sets, respectively. RESULTS:Using demographics and injury characteristics, as well as patient laboratory data, predictive tools (e.g., logistic regression [LR], support vector machine [SVM], decision tree [DT], naive Bayes [NB], and artificial neural networks [ANN]) were used to determine the mortality of individual patients. The predictive performance was evaluated by accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, as well as by area under the curve (AUC) measures of receiver operator characteristic curves. In the training set, all five ML models had a specificity of more than 90% and all ML models (except the NB) achieved an accuracy of more than 90%. Among them, the ANN had the highest sensitivity (80.59%) in mortality prediction. Regarding performance, the ANN had the highest AUC (0.968), followed by the LR (0.942), SVM (0.935), NB (0.908), and DT (0.872). In the test set, the ANN had the highest sensitivity (84.38%) in mortality prediction, followed by the SVM (65.63%), LR (59.38%), NB (59.38%), and DT (43.75%). CONCLUSIONS:The ANN model provided the best prediction of mortality for patients with isolated moderate and severe TBI.

To compare Exponential Injury Severity Score (EISS) with Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New Injury Severity Score (NISS) in terms of their predictive capability of the outcomes and medical expenses of hospitalized adult trauma patients.This study was based at a level I trauma center in Taiwan.Data for 17,855 adult patients hospitalized from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2015 were retrieved from the Trauma Registry System. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were the hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, ICU LOS, and medical expenses. Chi-square tests were used for categorical variables to determine the significance of the associations between the predictor and outcome variables. Student t-tests were applied to analyze normally distributed data for continuous variables, while Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare non-normally distributed data.According to the survival rate-to-severity score relationship curve, we grouped all adult trauma patients based on EISS scores of ≥ 27, 9-26, and < 9. Significantly higher mortality rates were noted in patients with EISS ≥ 27 and those with EISS of 9-26 when compared to patients with EISS < 9; this finding concurred to the findings for groups classified by the ISS and NISS with the cut-off points set between 25 and 16. The hospital LOS, ICU admission rates, and medical expenses for patients with EISS ≥ 27 and patients with EISS of 9-26 were also significantly longer and higher than that of patients with EISS < 9. When comparing the demographics and detailed medical expenses of very severely injured adult trauma patients classified according to ISS, NISS, and EISS, patients with ISS ≥ 25 and NISS ≥ 25 both had significantly lower mortality rates, lower ICU admission rates, and shorter ICU LOS compared to patients with EISS ≥ 27.EISS 9 and 27 can serve as two cut-off points regarding injury severity, and patients with EISS ≥ 27 have the greatest injury severity. Additionally, these patients have the highest mortality rate, the highest ICU admission rate, and the longest ICU LOS compared to those with ISS ≥ 25 and NISS ≥ 25, suggesting that patients with EISS ≥ 27 have the worst outcome.

Background/Objectives: Septic postoperative complications are debated in patients with complicated acute appendicitis treated with laparoscopic appendectomy (LA). The aim of this study was to investigate the results of LA in both complicated and uncomplicated cases of acute appendicitis. Methods: From January to December 2009, 94 patients with acute appendicitis underwent LA by the same surgeon using the three-port technique. Data were accumulated and compared between complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis. Results: Of the 94 patients (45 women and 49 men), 19 had complicated and 75 uncomplicated acute appendicitis. The group with complicated acute appendicitis, as compared to the uncomplicated group, was significantly older (55.7 ± 20.5 years vs. 41.0 ± 18.0 years), and had a significantly increased operation time (117.6 ± 45.5 minutes vs. 78.2 ± 39.4 minutes), longer length of hospital stay (9.0 ± 3.3 days vs. 5.2 ± 6.0 days) and higher conversion rate (21.1% vs. 2.7%). No increase in surgical complications was noted in patients with complicated acute appendicitis, as compared to those with uncomplicated acute appendicitis. Conclusion: This study demonstrated no increase in surgical complications after LA in patients with complicated acute appendicitis when compared with those who had uncomplicated disease. Therefore, LA may be considered the first-choice treatment option for both uncomplicated and complicated acute appendicitis.

Background. This study aims to investigate the effect of feeding low-fat diet (LFD) to diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice lacking TLR5 (TLR5−/−), which have a tendency to develop glucose intolerance with increased adiposity, compared to that in C57BL/6 mice. Results. TLR5−/− and C57BL/6 male mice were divided into three subgroups: (1) control, mice were fed a standard AIN-76A (fat: 11.5 kcal%) diet for 12 weeks; (2) DIO, mice were fed a 58 kcal% high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks; and (3) diet, mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity and then switched to a 10.5 kcal% LFD for 4 weeks. The glucose intolerance in DIO TLR5−/− mice was more significant than that in DIO C57BL/6 mice and was not attenuated by a switch to the LFD. Weight-reduction with LFD had significantly decreased the epididymal fat mass in C57BL/6 mice but not in TLR5−/− mice. In addition, the LFD-fed TLR5−/− mice showed significantly higher expression of ghrelin in the serum and resistin in the epididymal fat than that in C57BL/6 mice. Conclusions. This study demonstrated that TLR5 gene knockout impairs some effects of weight-reduction in DIO.