Polytrauma Management
A 35-year-old man is brought to the trauma bay after a high-speed motor vehicle collision. He has a GCS of 8, bilateral pulmonary contusions, a grade III liver laceration, and bilateral femur fractures. His blood pressure is 85/50 mmHg despite 2L crystalloid, heart rate is 125 bpm, temperature 35.2°C, pH 7.18, lactate 6.2 mmol/L, and he has received 4 units of packed red blood cells. Regarding damage control orthopaedics:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Damage control orthopaedics (DCO) involves temporary stabilization of fractures with external fixati...
Indications for DCO over Early Total Care include: hypothermia (less than 35°C), acidosis (pH less t...
All polytrauma patients should receive Early Total Care with definitive fixation; external fixation ...
The "second hit" theory proposes that major surgery in already compromised patients amplifies the sy...
Conversion from external fixation to intramedullary nailing should ideally occur within 2 weeks to m...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option