BACKGROUND We performed a retrospective case-control study to assess the values of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in a large number of patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) with different types of trauma. METHODS The study population consisted of all patients aged 18 years or older admitted to the local ED with all types of traumas over a 1-year period. Results of cTnI were compared w...

Blunt aortic injury is the most lethal injury of the thorax, of which aortic transection is the second leading cause of death. Pseudoaneurysm formation is seen in patients who survive the injury and arrive to the emergency department with small or partial-thickness tears of the aorta. In general, the proximal descending aorta is most commonly afflicted due to the relatively mobile aortic arch m...

Chest trauma can affect any one or all components of the chest wall and thoracic cavity (bony skeleton, lungs and tracheobronchial tree, heart and great vessels, esophagus and diaphragm). This review is focused on the pathophysiology, diagnostic and treatment of blunt and penetrating thoracic injuries.

BACKGROUND After severe blunt chest trauma, the development of an acute lung injury (ALI) is often associated with severe or even lethal complications. Especially in multiple injured patients after blunt chest trauma ALI/ARDS [acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)] is frequent. However, in the initial posttraumatic phase, inflammatory clinical signs are often not apparent and underlying ch...

Background Flail chest is the most serious complication that may occur after thoracic trauma. In this article, we present a case of flail chest caused by blunt chest trauma, which presented dramatic clinical improvement following rib fixation and chest wall reconstruction. Case Description A 53-year-old male patient with flail chest because of the trauma who had been followed in intensive care ...

OBJECTIVE Severe blunt chest trauma in humans is associated with high mortality rates. Whereas lung tissue damage and lung inflammation after blunt chest trauma have extensively been investigated, the traumatic and posttraumatic effects on the heart remain poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to define cardiac injury patterns in an experimental blunt chest trauma model in...