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MOTORCYCLE TRAUMA
A review of the medical literature regarding management of the injured motorcyclist in the prehospital and in-hospital setting is presented in Injury (2007;38:1131–8). The slightly provocative title (“Trauma and motorcyclists; born to be wild, bound to be injured?”) should be enough to entice anyone who has sampled the pleasure of two wheels. The authors conclude that neither spine nor airway can be satisfactorily managed with a helmet and “speed hump” in place—they advocate that helmets should be removed and speed humps cut out. The review also considers the potential role of leathers acting as fracture splints, particularly for pelvic and lower limb injuries. Similarly, they advise on how to manage back protectors.
PREHOSPITAL TRAUMATIC ARREST
There is often an assumption that patients with prehospital cardiac arrest following trauma have a worse prognosis than those with arrest from non-traumatic aetiology. A cohort analysis from the European Epinephrine Study Group in France found no significant difference in survival to hospital discharge and 1-year survival of those patients with prehospital cardiac arrest due to trauma compared with those from other causes. It seems …