A stab wound is a specific form of penetrating trauma to the skin that results from a knife or a similar pointed object. While stab wounds are typically known to be caused by knives, they can also occur from a variety of implements, including broken bottles and ice picks. Most stabbings occur because of intentional violence or through self-infliction. The treatment is dependent on many different variables such as the anatomical location and the severity of the injury. Even though stab wounds are inflicted at a much greater rate than gunshot wounds, they account for less than 10% of all penetrating trauma deaths. Management
Stab wounds can cause various internal and external injuries. They are generally caused by low-velocity weapons, meaning the injuries inflicted on a person are typically confined to the path it took internally, instead of causing damage to surrounding tissue, which is common of gunshot wounds. The abdomen is the most commonly injured area from a stab wound. Interventions that may be needed depending on severity of the injury include airway, intravenous access, and  control of hemorrhage. The length and size of the knife blade, as well as the trajectory it followed, may be important in planning management as it can be a predictor of what structures were damaged.
In ESCAPE-1, Cleviprex had a significantly lower rate of treatment failure when compared with placebo (7.5% vs 82.7%) and a 92.5% rate of success in lowering systolic blood pressure (SBP) by ≥15%. The median time to reduce SBP ≥15% from baseline was 6 minutes. ESCAPE-2 was a  double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled efficacy trials of 110 cardiac surgery patients. In ESCAPE-2, Cleviprex had a significantly lower rate of treatment failure when compared with placebo (8.2% vs 79.6%) and a 91.8% treatment success rate. The median time to reduce SBP ≥15% from baseline was 5.3 minutes. The ECLIPSE trials consisted of three safety trials in which 1506 patients were randomized to receive Cleviprex, nitroglycerin, sodium nitroprusside, or nicardipine, for the treatment of hypertension associated with cardiac surgery. The incidence of death, stroke, myocardial infarction (heart attack), and renal dysfunction at 30 days did not differ significantly between the pooled Cleviprex and comparator treatment arms. VELOCITY was an open-label trial of 126 patients with severe hypertension (BP > 180/115 mmHg) in the emergency department and intensive care unit. In VELOCITY, 104 out of 117 patients (88.9%) achieved a target SBP mean decrease of 21.1% at 30 minutes. References
Further reading
External links
"Cleviprex Prescribing Information" (PDF). cleviprex.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-09. "The Medicines Companys Cleviprex(TM) Receives FDA Approval". Press release. The Medicines Company. Retrieved 4 August 2008.