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Objective: To determine the background and consequences of failing to diagnose injuries in prehospital care., Design: Prospective cohort study., Method: Data were collected from 507 trauma patients with multiple injuries, and a Hospital trauma index-injury severity score of 16 or higher, who were delivered by the emergency ambulance service to the emergency department of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 1999-2000., Results: The percentage of missed injuries varied from 9-55. For every additional year of age the risk of missing thoracic injuries was 2% higher. The risk of missing head injuries was 84% lower in people with a Triage revised trauma score (T-RTS) < 11. Initially missing an injury had no consequences for duration of stay in the ICU except in those patients with injuries to the lower extremities. A difference in quality of life was only reported for patients in whom injuries ofthe ribs, shoulder or clavicle had been missed. For every year of age, there was a 2% greater risk of dying within 1.5 years. A T-RTS < 11 resulted in a 5.6-fold greater risk of death. Failing to diagnose an injury did not in itself increase the risk of death., Conclusion: Frequently missing an injury prior to hospitalization did not result in a poorer chance of survival or lesser quality of life. The risk of dying was mainly related to a higher age and a poorer general condition at the scene of the accident. According to these findings there is no reason to adapt the current policy with regard to initial care and transport of trauma patients.

After some considerable delay, acute compartment syndrome of the lower leg was diagnosed in a 17-year-old man, a 32-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman. The first patient was an accident victim whose leg was continuously bandaged for three days following treatment of a complicated femur fracture and lower leg wounds, so that inspection was not possible. In the second patient who was also an accident victim, the haemodynamics and the neurological condition initially required so much attention that the compartment syndrome was only noticed after 48 hours. The woman presented with a cold, painful left foot. She had atrial fibrillations. A thrombus mass was removed endovascularly from the femoral artery. She controlled her own pain medication by means of an epidural catheter, but as a result of that a reperfusion compartment syndrome was only noticed at a later stage. These cases reveal that it can be very difficult to establish the diagnosis of acute compartment syndrome, especially if this is masked by the already quite subjective symptoms of the clinical picture. The consequences of a missed compartment syndrome are serious, with a considerable impairment of the limb concerned that often necessitates amputation. Awareness and healthy suspicion are the keys to a quick and timely diagnosis. Prophylactic fasciotomies must be carried out on the basis of several clear indications.

Objective: Survey of the influence of smoking on the healing of open tibial fractures., Design: Retrospective., Method: During the period 1 January 1994 to 31 December 2000, 168 patients were treated at the Department of Surgery (University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands) due to an open tibial fracture; 118 patients with 125 fractures were included in the study. On the basis of their smoking behaviour, patients were classified as 'non-smokers' or 'smokers'. For all of the patients it was ascertained whether or not complications had occurred during treatment. Whether the fracture had consolidated was determined on the basis of clinical and radiological criteria., Results: Seventy-two (61%) patients were non-smokers and 46 were smokers. The non-smokers had 77 open tibial fractures and the smokers 48. Initial therapy was identical and wound infections occurred with similar incidences in both groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of osteitis between both groups: 7 (9%) times in the non-smokers and 13 (27%) times in smokers (p = 0.04). The mean time to consolidation was 26 weeks for non-smokers and 33 weeks for smokers (p = 0.04). Smokers remained longer in hospital and underwent more re-operations., Conclusions: Smoking was negatively associated with the healing of open tibial fractures. In smoking patients, the time to consolidation was on average statistically significantly longer and they suffered more from osteitis.