The Most Dangerous Game: A Review of Head and Neck Injuries in American Football and Rugby

Study Design The investigators designed and implemented a 20-year cross-sectional study using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. Objective The purpose of this study is to estimate and compare hospital admission (danger) rates between rugby and football of those who presented to the emergency department with head and neck injuries after playing these sports. Methods The primary predictor variable was sport played. The primary outcome variable was danger, measured by hospital admission rates. Results Over the past 20 years, there has been a trend of decreasing incidence of injuries presenting to the emergency department in both sports. There was no difference in the rate of hospital admission when comparing football and rugby (OR, 1.2; P = .1). Male gender was associated with an increased risk of admission. Other variables associated with hospital admission included white racial group, injury taking place in the fall, being either young (15–24 years old) or senior (65 years of age and over), and being injured at school or at a sport/recreational facility. Conclusions There is no difference in danger as measured by admission rates between American football and rugby. There exists, however, several variables that are associated with admission when sustaining injury to the head and neck, when playing these two sports.

Designing a Smart Pillow for Sleep Quality Remote Monitoring

This paper proposes a low cost IoT solution to detect head movements and positions of a patient by means of Force Sensing Resistors positioned on a pillow and connected to a micro-controller collecting patient data anytime, when sleeping, sending it to the cloud and making it available to healthcare professionals. The impact of this work is focused on monitoring sleep quality, using low-cost and easy to use pillows in an ambulatory scenario, without the need of expensive and dedicated sleeping rooms for sleep monitoring, which most of the times affect patient sleep and degrades the quality of the measurement.In this case it is possible to monitor the patient’s behavior throughout the entire sleep, important for detecting factors causing minor head and neck injuries and even checking for events of long pauses in respiratory rate.

The perplexing postsurgical complication of carotid-jugular fistula: A bitter experience

Background: Vascular injuries occur in approximately 25% of all penetrating neck traumas, with carotid artery injuries being particularly lethal. Penetrating neck injuries are potentially fatal. Vascular injuries occur in approximately 25% of cases, which can lead to the formation of arteriovenous fistulas. Case Description: The authors present a case of delayed open surgery to repair a carotid-jugular fistula that resulted in an unprecedented complication, as well as a brief review of the condition’s diagnosis and treatment options. Conclusion: This case report suggests us that, penetrating neck injuries should be thoroughly evaluated for arteriovenous fistulae. To avoid complications, common carotid-jugular fistulas must be treated as soon as possible. Postoperative complications can be effectively managed with prompt action.

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Simple Review Article

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) occurs in infants when the head is subjected to excessive acceleration and deceleration. Guthkelch first identified SBS when he noticed that infants with subdural hematoma did not always have gross markings, indicating the possibility of a baby shaking. The rotational force pushes the brain against the skull, causing various types of head and neck injuries. Ophthalmologic testing for retinal haemorrhages and ocular fundus, which can rule out SBS, is one of the tests for SBS. Immunohistochemical staining for -amyloid precursor protein (-APP) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accurately identify brain injuries and bleeding, resulting in a more accurate diagnosis of SBS. SBS symptoms are shared by other etiologies, making it difficult to determine the true cause of infantile injury. Experiments using biomechanical models to recreate the whiplash movement have not revealed subdural haemorrhaging, but limitations in the models have doubt to these results.

Pathological Mechanisms and Additional Factors Involved in Complex Neck Traumatology

Background. Cervical trauma can be closed or open, have different degrees of severity, incidence rates, prevalence, or mortality, with variations in the presence of demographic factors. The different types of traumatic injuries have a certain pattern of occurrence depending on criteria related to sex, age, alcohol consumption, and socio-demographic factors. Increasing the rate of trauma is becoming a public health problem and it is necessary to study their epidemiology and implement control strategies. Aims. The objectives of the study are to establish the particularities of epidemiological, morphopathological, and pathophysiological factors involved in complex neck traumatology. Methods. The study group consisted of 384 patients, representative for the population of Moldova, who presented at the ENT Clinic, Hospital “St. Spiridon” Iași and the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Iași during 2012–2016, with complex cervical trauma pathology, produced by various mechanisms, such as car accidents, domestic accidents, aggressions, ballistic trauma, self-inflicted attempts, hanging or strangulation. Data were collected from autopsy reports and medical records. Results. Complex cervical trauma occurs with a predisposition in males, with an average age of 43 years, from rural areas. The mechanism of cervical trauma is predominantly self-inflicted—hanging in 78.4% of the total number of cases, followed by 14.8% of stabbing aggression. The majority of neck injuries, both open and closed, are located in anatomical zone II (73.6%), vascular and pharyngeal are produced by stabbing. Psychiatric disorders and blood alcohol levels are correlated with complex cervical trauma caused by self-inflicted mechanism—hanging and can be considered a predictive factor of suicide attempts. Conclusions. Overall, the vast majority of closed neck injuries were caused by the self-inflicted mechanism, attempted suicide by hanging, followed by the accidental mechanism. Regarding the penetrating complex aero-digestive cervical traumas, they were mostly produced by stabbing both in aggression and self-inflicted circumstances. Aggravating addictive factors such as alcoholism and mental disorders require a competent assessment in terms of the indication of institutionalized treatment, prevention of repeated self-inflicted attempts, or social reintegration.

Methods of Physical Therapy for athletes who Specialize in the Sambo wrestling with the use of Kinesiological Taping for neck injuries

Taking into account the Results of Monitoring of Scientific-Methodical, Special and reference literature, it is established hat the issue of development and testing of Methods of Physical Therapy of Highly qualified athletes Specializing in contact Martial Arts using Kinesiological Taping for neck injuries is devoted to insufficient Research Methods, which requires Further Research and emphasizes the relevance and Practical component of the chosen area of Scientific Research. The Main Purpose of Scientific Research is to develop a Method of Physical Therapy for Highly qualified athletes who specialize in Sambo wrestling (Combat Sambo) with the use of Kinesiological Taping for neck injuries. In the Process of Research and Analytical work, the following Research Methods were used: axiomatic, expert evaluation, idealization, formalization, historical and logical, ascent from the specific, as well as own experience in organizing a System of Physical Therapy for athletes specializing in Martial Arts. As a Result of Theoretical Research, members of the Research group developed a Method of Physical Therapy of Sambo wrestlers (Combat Sambo) with High qualification using the Means of Kinesiological Taping for neck injuries. Prospects for Further Research in the chosen direction of Scientific Research include testing of Experimental Methods of Physical Therapy of Highly Skilled Combat Sambo wrestlers with the use of Kinesiological Taping for neck injuries at different stages of their long-term preparation.

Analysis of Penetrating Neck Injuries (PNIs) at a South London Trauma Centre before and after the first national lockdown.

•A 28-month retrospective review from February 2019 to April 2021 of penetrating neck injuries (PNIs) at our trauma centre revealed a 48% (n=25 to n=37) increase in PNIs ‘post-lockdown’ (lockdown date = 23rd March 2020). •The aetiology of PNI changed over time, with an increase in the proportion of Deliberate Self Harm’ (DSH) cases from 1/3 to 2/3rds of case (n=9 to n=25), an overall 177.8% increase ‘post-lockdown’. An increase in mortality was also seen with no deaths ‘pre-lockdown’, and 3 deaths ‘post-lockdown’. •‘Accidental Injuries’ (AI) increased from 4% to 10% of cases (n=1 to n=4) post lockdown, with ‘grievous bodily harm (GBH) reducing from half to 1/5th of all cases (n=13 to n=8), and ‘domestic violence’ from 8% of cases to no cases post lockdown (DV) ‘post lockdown’. •‘Pre-lockdown’ 10% of DSH patients (n=1) were noted to have a prior mental health diagnosis or psychiatric care, ‘post-lockdown’ this increased to 61.5% (n=16) of DSH patients. •Data from our tertiary trauma centre in London has shown a change in aetiology, psychiatric co-morbidity and number of PNIs pre and post lockdown.