• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2019

Purpose: Penetrating vascular trauma though less common poses a challenge to all Surgeons. This study was designed to analyse the profile, management modalities of vascular trauma and the outcomes thereof at a Trauma Care Centre in a Tertiary care setting in hostile environment in India. Methods: A prospective review of all patients with arterial and venous injuries being transferred to the Trauma Center at out Tertiary Care Center between June 2015 and May 2018 was done. Demographics, admission data, treatment, and complications were reviewed. Results: There were a total of 46 patients with 65 vascular injuries, 39 arterial injuries and 26 venous injuries. The age range was 21 to 47 years. Nineteen patients had both arterial and venous injuries. A total of 42 cases presented within 12 hours of injury and complete arterial transections were found in 33 cases (80.49%). There were three mortalities (6.52%) and three amputations (8.33%). The overall limb salvage rate was 91.67% with popliteal artery being the commonest injured artery. Poor prognosticators for limb salvage were increasing time to present to the trauma centre, hypovolemic shock, multi-organ trauma and associated venous injuries. Conclusions: Penetrating missile trauma leading to vascular injuries has not been widely reported. Attempting limb salvage even in cases with delayed presentation should be weighed with the threat to life before revascularisation and should preferably be done at a centre with vascular expertise. A team approach with vascular, orthopaedic, general surgeons, and critical care anaesthesiologists all aboard improve the outcomes manifold. Use of tourniquets and early fasciotomies have been emphasized as is the use of native veins as the bypass conduit. This is probably the largest study on penetrating Vascular trauma in anti-terrorism ops from the Indian subcontinent. It highlights the significance of prompt recognition and availability of vascular expertise in optimally managing cases of vascular trauma.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.227-229
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• 2017

Fibrosis of skeletal muscle following acupuncture is an iatrogenic disorder. The present case illustrates a patient with a unilateral fibrotic formation on a thumb muscle after acupuncture injection therapy with red sage. The patient in the present case was a counter-terrorism police officer with right-handedness; he noted a palpable nodule three months after injection therapy at his left first dorsal interosseous in which the acupuncture point LI4 (He Gu) is located. He also found a reduction in the strength of his left pinch grip that noticeably affected his left handgun marksmanship. However, being ambidextrous in single-hand pistol shooting is an essential requirement for counter-terrorism police officers. Based on the patient's medical history and claims, no underlying disease or trauma was found to be associated with his current complaint. During physical examination, a fibrotic formation in his left first dorsal interosseous muscle was visualized by using diagnostic ultrasound; also, as confirmed with dynamometry, the strength of his left pinch grip was significantly lower than that of the right counterpart. Because acupuncture injection therapy has three components, antiseptic practices, the mechanical action of syringe insertion, and the pharmacological effect of the sterile herb extract, any one of the components may have contributed to the present adverse event. The first dorsal interosseous muscle is small in dimension and rather vascular; thus, it is not an ideal site for intramuscular injection. When a clinician needs to treat a patient by performing acupuncture at the LI4 acupoint and injecting a herbal extract simultaneously, the clinician should only mechanically stimulate the LI4 acupoint while injecting the herbal medicine into the LI14 (Bi Noe) acupoint on the same meridian, the LI14 acupoint being located in the distal portion of the deltoid muscle and being fairly close to the universally agreed upon site on the upper arm for safe administration of an injection.