Pneumomediastinum is the presence of air in the mediastinum. It may occur as spontaneous, traumatic, or iatrogenic pneumomediastinum. Although spontaneous pneumomediastinum is usually observed in healthy young men, traumatic pneumomediastinum may be caused by blunt or penetrating trauma to the chest and neck. Pneumomediastinum is a clinical condition with potential complications that cause high...

penetrating neck trauma is an important area of trauma care that has undergone evolution in the recent past. a remarkable number of changes have occurred in the treatment paradigm as new technologies have developed and as surgeons have explored the outcomes from different treatment protocols. therapy has evolved from no treatment (before effective anesthesia and instrumentation), to non operati...

Introduction. Combined abdominal and thoracic impalement injuries are a rare form of penetrating trauma. Nowadays, they occur more frequently as an accident and not so often as a deliberate violent action. Case Report. A 35-year-old man was admitted to our emergency department with chest pain and respiratory distress after he had reportedly slipped in his bathtub. Abdominal and thoracic imaging...

Introduction Pneumomediastinum is defined as the presence of air or other gas in the mediastinum. This can be categorized as spontaneous or traumatic. Traumatic pneumomediastinum is caused by blunt or penetrating trauma to the chest or iatrogenic injury. Mediastinal air commonly originates from pneumothoraces (4,8). Pneumomediastinum in the absence of pneumothorax is frequently omitted in the d...

A prospective study was conducted on 102 patients (84 male), with a median age of 27 years, who had sustained a penetrating chest wound to evaluate the ability of physical examination in comparison with chest radiography to determine management of these injuries. Knife wounds accounted for 92% of the injuries. Fifty three patients had a small collection of air or fluid in their pleural cavity t...

BACKGROUND The role of fluids in trauma resuscitation is controversial. We compared resuscitation with 0.9% saline vs hydroxyethyl starch, HES 130/0.4, in severe trauma with respect to resuscitation, fluid volume, gastrointestinal recovery, renal function, and blood product requirements. METHODS Randomized, controlled, double-blind study of severely injured patients requiring >3 litres of flu...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The incidence of pneumothorax after penetrating chest trauma is 100%. Tension pneumothorax, a high mortality rate condition, may be triggered, among other causes, by pulmonary injury not previously identified, and may also be associated to mechanical ventilation. This report presents a case of tension pneumothorax diagnosed in the Post-Anesthetic Care Unit (PACU). CA...

Background The optimal timing for emergency surgical interventions and implementation of protocols for trauma surgery is insufficient in the literature. The Groote Schuur emergency surgery triage (GSEST) system, based on Cape Triaging Score (CTS), is followed at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) for triaging emergency surgical cases including trauma cases. The study aimed to look at the effect of de...

We report a 52-year-old woman presenting with stab wounds on her back and upper extremities. A knife retained in her chest wall was not discovered in the emergency department. This case reminds us that an obvious foreign body can be missed even after obtaining a detailed history, complete physical examination and plain film. Particularly, a retained foreign body increases the risk of infection ...

Traumatic false aneurysm of the thoracic aorta is not uncommon. But accordingly this case is unusual in its ten year delay between injury and presentation and treatment. A victim of the Iran-Iraq war is presented with a false aneurysm of the thoracic aorta ten years after a bullet injury to the chest and thoracic spine. Penetrating chest wounds, mechanisms of injury and diagnosis are also ...