Each month, the Penn Physician Blog features a review of recent journal publications by clinician researchers within the Department of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania that report upon issues, concerns and findings of great relevance to trauma surgeons.
In January 2022, Traumatology faculty contributed articles to leading journals on a broad range of topics. What unites these articles is a thematic concentration on improvement of the status quo in critical care and emergency surgery.
This month's featured articles, for example, seek to improve the characterization of the mechanisms between beta blockade and outcomes after traumatic brain injury, and to better define the optimal composition of airway rapid response (ARR) teams.
Studying Beta Blockade in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Beta Blockade in TBI: Dose Dependent Reduction in BBB Leuko-cyte Mobilization and Permeability in Vivo. Lopez AJ, ElSaadani M, Jacovides CL, George A, Culkin MC, Ahmed S, Kumar MA, Kaplan LJ, Smith DH, Pascual JL.
In an in vivo murine model, Penn Trauma researchers found that beta blockade reduces post-TBI penumbral leukocyte mobilization and blood brain barrier permeability, leading to reduced cerebra edema and hastened recovery of neurological function.
Moreover, the researchers found dose-dependent effects, framing a mechanistic relationship be-tween beta blockade and improved human outcomes after TBI.
Airway Rapid Response Activation
A surgical needs assessment for airway rapid responses: A retrospective observational study. Hynes AM, Lambe LD, Scantling DR, Bormann BC, Atkins JH, Rassekh CH, Seamon MJ, Martin ND.
To examine the as-yet unknown optimal composition of an airway rapid response (ARR) team, Penn Trauma faculty and a multi-center team evaluated technical procedures performed during ARR activation, including procedures related to tracheostomies, to inform team composition.
New Research from Penn Trauma
The following represents a selection from various publications of new studies and reports from providers in the Department of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine: