Articles Posted in Manhattan

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The importance of the initial examination when it comes to closed head injury cannot be stressed enough, according to Manhattan doctors. The conscious level may be the best way for a clinician to assess brain function after a head injury. The level of consciousness is often tested early, as the medical professional tests the patient’s response to certain stimuli. Often, this assessment is taken before secondary brain injury sets in; if the injury seems to worsen, it may indicate there are problems with the brain that require a closer look. CT scanning helps with this process, but examination of the conscious level still remains a useful part of head injury observation, especially when the injury does not appear to be severe enough to require a scan at first impression.

The conscious level also helps to measure how serious the injury is, according to doctors. How conscious the patient is can help determine the extent of the injury, when coupled with how much time has passed since the impact. Other factors must be taken into account in these cases, however. Drugs, ethanol, lack of oxygen, and other factors can cause loss of consciousness, and these should also be ruled out.

Later evaluations can monitor and document the duration of loss of consciousness. This is yet another way to measure the severity of brain injury, studies have learned. These methods require away to measure impairments of consciousness, which fortunately medical professionals in Queens have had available for decades.

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Since so many head injuries are caused by traffic accidents, road engineering is an important aspect of prevention, as is speed control to avoid crashes. This aspect involves not only driver education and law enforcement, but for the road system to be designed as safely as possible, sources have determined.

There are a number of ways road design can prevent crashes. Well-utilized banking and services that are kept in high conditions can contribute a great deal to safety, making it less likely for drivers to lose control of their vehicles. Visibility should always be good and warning signs should be placed in order to prevent intersection crashes. Rural areas should have unidirectional traffic flow, to prevent head-on collisions. Urban areas like Manhattan and Queens can help prevent traffic accidents by placing median strips between streams of traffic so pedestrians can cross the street more safely.

No matter where the road its, or what kind of road it is, control of access is a quality to keep in mind, doctors have learned. Pedestrians and pedal cyclists should have their own paths. Traffic lights make pedestrian crossing both easier and safer. Lights can also control speed and traffic flow. There have been some attempts to control speed in urban areas with physical obstacles, but this has proven to be effective but unpopular.

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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a well-defined clinical syndrome, according to doctors on Long Island. The 2000 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision states that some patients who experience life-threatening events might well feel intense fear or helplessness which becomes PTSD.

Victims of PTSD suffer through a number of symptoms, which may include re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, a loss of concentration, sudden anger or irritation, hypervigilance, and a heightened response to being startled. All of these can cause a detrimental effect on the victim to enjoy life.

Mild explosive blast traumatic brain injury(bTBI) has many of these symptoms in common with PTSD, including changes in sleep patterns and moods. There are some differences, however, studies in Manhattan have learned. Headaches, for instance, are much more likely with TBI, while hypervigilance and the tendency to startle more easily is more common with PTSD.

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An alleged overdose of post-operative pain medications led a patient to file a law suit against his nurse and her employers. The man suffered and anoxic brain injury after the overdose led him to code. He had been recovering after arthroscopic surgery. The judgment awarded him $126,500.

The man and his wife sued the Registered Nurse, Interim Health Care Staffing of North Louisiana, and Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, Louisiana. The plaintiffs alleged that the nurse did not meet standards of care in her treatment of the post-op patient.

As the man recovered from rotator cuff surgery at Glenwood Medical Center in June of 2001, he received a dosage of IV Demerol. He was then transferred from the operation room to a recovery room and assigned to the above mentioned RN, a contract nurse employed by Interim.

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Sometimes the extent of moderate or severe damage caused by bTBI (explosive blast traumatic brain injury) is difficult to determine at first, doctors have told sources. Severe facial trauma can prevent reliable neurological examination, especially when it comes to examining the pupils for reaction. Specialized tools are often necessary to even make triage decisions that could save lives.

The chaos of war only compounds the difficulty in making decisions when it comes to severe injury. When a doctor or other medical professional is used to medical centers in the United States, where there are adequate resources and help in the form of other professionals near at hand, it can be very difficult to work on a battlefield where everything is in short supply, but the number of patients is much greater.

Difficult decisions have to be made in such environments. It isn’t uncommon for a great number of severely injured patients to arrive at the same time. Efficient triage is essential for the best use of limited resources. There may be few health care providers, no operating rooms or CT scanners, and not many blood products to go around. It may even be impossible to evacuate patients to a better facility. The whole idea behind triage is take resources that may not be adequate and stretch them out to their best possible use to help the largest number of patients. They must be stabilized and their lives preserved until they can be evacuated into a better circumstance. Hospitals in Long Island and Manhattan are watching this situation.

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Blast TBI (traumatic brain injury) happens to many combatants, according to a study. It can rightfully be considered a new class of TBI. While it might share a lot of features with standard TBI, it has some unique aspects that are all its own.

The milder forms of TBI can be very similar to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but it also has distinct aspects of its own. The military currently uses civilian standards of care for TBI when it comes to bTBI (explosive blast TBI), but they are constantly revising their standards to better provide for those injured on the field, according to sources. The theater of war requires different standards of medical practice.

It is apparent that there need to be more studies done on the precise effects of bTBI, both scientifically and clinically. The research will have to be focused upon how explosive blasts can lead to TBI. It is also important to learn how prevalent this disease is, and the exact causes. Once the research reaches a certain level, it will become much easier to diagnose and treat bTBI. A clinical definition of bTBI should quickly create the means to treat bTBI.

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A new report suggests that an infusion of calories and proteins may help reduce inflammation and aid recovery in traumatic brain injury cases, as brought forth by a Lawyer.

Service members wounded on the battlefield are finding that proper nutrition plays an important role in improving the outcome of their traumatic brain injury. This is especially true if it is administered soon after they incur the injury, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report proclaims.

The report, commissioned by the Department of Defense, urges the military to make calorie and protein-based infusions a standard part of care in the immediate aftermath of an injury.

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The symptoms of bTBI (explosive blast traumatic brain injury) can actually be very subtle, doctors tell patients. Sometimes, there is no outward sign of injury until certain symptoms begin to arise, like headaches, vertigo, or short-term memory loss. Because of this, victims of bTBI should be evaluated by a physician or psychologist to determine how extensive their injuries might be, if any. Neurophysical evaluation should be a part of this examination. There are currently efforts to create neuropsychological tests that can be automated on laptop computer or are easy enough to be used to by first responders who may have less training. Skull fracture can be uncovered and treated.

Patient who may have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) should see a combat stress team provider or a psychiatrist as soon as possible. It is very important to remember, expertss have in Manhattan and Long Island hospitals have learned, that bTBI and PTSD can have very similar symptoms and may occur alone or together in a patient. It may be difficult to tell them apart.

When TBI may be present in a patient, that person should be excused from all combat-related duties. The patient should be put on light duty until the symptoms are gone or until he or she is moved to a place where advanced neuroimaging, like MRI, may be used, and a more detailed evaluation can be used. Doctors have determined that it is vital for a patient suffering brain injury, or who may be suffering from it, to be treated with the utmost care, so the condition does not become worse.

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Police describe the death of a six-month-old baby Ngaruawahia girl as a “very violent” incident. The girl died from a traumatic brain injury(TBI), the post mortem report reveals.

The child had been admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after suffering non-accidental injuries.

The small baby died at Starship Hospital last Thursday after life support was turned off, a doctor sadly states.

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Injuries caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) can be complicated, sources have learned. Such a blast can cause a number of brain injuries that have their own problems, like traumatically amputated limbs, multiple penetrating wounds, and heavy bleeding. It takes a great deal of skill and knowledge to treat injuries from an explosive blast, because there are so many different injuries caused by it.

A number of subspecialists are required to help the patient, under the direction of a trauma surgeon. Soft-tissue loss is common, in addition to severe burns to the face and scalp. When it comes to the military, a helmet can be excellent protection against penetrating objects, so if the blast does cause penetrating object injuries, it is often through the face, orbit of the eye, or base of the skull, all areas not covered by the helmet. Even when the helmet does prevent an object from penetrating the skull there can still be associated cTBI (closed head traumatic blast injury) that may cause anything from mild concussions to severe contusions and skull fractures, where the helmet is dented from the blow, doctors have discovered.

Hospitals and doctors in Manhattan and Queens are studying these cases and trying to improve their treatment. The more information they receive the better chance they have of developing treatment which will solve the problems these injuries present.

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