Diagnosis of scaphoid fractures. Are plain radiographs reliable?

Clinical Scenario

It’s a busy wednesday morning in ED. 

A 18 yo guy presents with the right hand upraised and dressed. 

In the other hand he has a bundle of X ray.   

“About ten days ago, it was a Saturday night, I was with my new girl-friend. Hitting a punch bag as hard as possible I felt pain to my right wrist. My doctor ordered wrist X ray. It’s not broken, he says, but I’m very afraid, when I move the wrist  it pains me so much”.

On clinical examination there is snuff box tenderness, the axial loading maneuvre on the thumb is positive (see previous post). 

The emergency phisician takes an accurately look at the X rays. They are of high quality, the study had 4 views of the scaphoid, there’s no evidence of irregularity of cortex, the scaphoid fat pad seems normal.

“Repeat X-ray” orders the doctor….

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Is it always necessary to perform an arterial blood gas after a blunt trauma?

   Clinical Scenario

A 53 year old man is involved in a motor vehicle crash. He refers a moderate thorax and abdominal pain. No head injury, the helmet is not broken, the patient remembers the accident. Systolic blood pression is 120/80 mmHg, respiratory rate is 24, saturation is 100%, he has abrasions over the torso and right thorax and flank, no wounds. The eFAST shows a normal pleural sliding, and no signs of intraperitoneal blood.

 The institutional blunt trauma protocol requires an arterial blood gas (ABG) and serum lactate (SL), than is obtained a CT of the chest abdomen and pelvis. 

After 15 minutes, the patient returns to the ED, TC is negative, the patient feels better, the nurse says that the ABG is abnormal, pH is 7.5 and lactate level is 4. 

Do abnormal ABG and/or SL change disposition after a negative CT?  

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Is cervical spine X-ray necessary if there is a distracting injury?

Clinical Scenario
 A 40 yo lady arrives in ED by ambulance with neck and spinal immobilization because she fell down a staircare.

 The patient’s vital signs are within normal physiological parameters, she is alert, no deficit, remembers all, denies head contusion and neck pain. She complains for a sharp shoulder pain (NRS 10/10), it seems broken.

If I perform the Nexus C-Spine criteria  X Ray is indicated: a distracting injury mandates cervical spine imaging.

How much the presence of distracting injury reduces my sensibility in rule out cervical spine (c-spine) injury?

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Can Ultrasound rule out a pneumothorax?

Clinical Scenario

You are allerted for a level 3 trauma from the mountain, a cyclist has fallen going down hill.

You prepar the shock room with everything you may need, dress up, and wait.

A 25 y/o cyclist arrives completely immobilized, you immidiately start to  perform ABCDE as you learned in your recent ATLS course (you feel confident).

First stop is a possible problem in “B” (breathing): he has an ecchimosis on the right emithorax, not crepitation, maybe there is a less vescicular murmur on the same side, but you are not sure (the shock room is very crowded an noisy!), he is slightely tachypnoic (RR is 24), O2 saturation is 96%. …you go on….in “E” (Exposure) you find an exposed, bleeding, thigh bone fracture that surly is going to need surgery, at the moment you stop the bleeding, stabilize, allert orthopedic…ect…

FAST is normal. You ask for X-Ray : anteroposterior (AP) chest x-ray, pelvis and thigh bone. Confirmed exposed fracture, no signs of pneumothorax, surgery room is ready…

You recently have reeded the previous post and you don't feel confident about a negative thorax x ray, so you decide to “extend” your FAST and on the right emithorax you find a "lung point"...

are you going to let this patient be intubated?

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Thoracic trauma and chest X-Ray

Clinical Scenario

You are alerted for a level 3 trauma coming from the mountain, a cyclist has fallen going down hill.

You prepare the shock room with everything you may need, dress up, and wait.

A 25 y/o cyclist arrives completely immobilized, you immediately start to  perform ABCDE as you learned in your recent ATLS course (...you feel confident).

First stop is a possible problem in “B” (breathing): he has an ecchimosis on the right emithorax, not crepitation, maybe there is a less vescicular murmur on the same side, but you are not sure (the shock room is very crowded an noisy!), he is slightely tachypnoic (RR is 24), O2 saturation is 96%. …you go on….in “E” (Exposure) you find an exposed, bleeding, thigh bone fracture that surly is going to need surgery, at the moment you stop the bleeding, stabilize, allert orthopedic…ect…

FAST is normal. You ask for X-Ray: anteroposterior (AP) chest x-ray, pelvis and thigh bone. Radiologist confirms exposed fracture, no signs of pneumothorax, surgery room is ready...

…Do you still feel confident?

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