BACKGROUND Thoracic trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In this study, we present our 11-year experience in the management and clinical outcome of 888 chest trauma cases as a result of blunt and penetrating injuries in our university hospital in Damascus, Syria. METHODS We reviewed files of 888 consequent cases of chest trauma between Januar...

BACKGROUND Predictors of mortality of chest trauma vary globally. We aimed to define factors affecting mortality of hospitalized chest trauma patients in Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates. METHODS The data of Al-Ain Hospital Trauma Registry were prospectively collected over a period of three years. Patients with chest trauma who were admitted for more than 24 hours in Al-Ain Hospital or who d...

BACKGROUND Trauma, especially chest and abdominal trauma are increasing due to the growing number of vehicles on the roads, which leads to an increased incidence of road accidents. Urbanization, industrialization and additional problems are the other associated factors which accelerate this phenomenon. A better understanding of the etiology and pattern of such injuries can help to improve the m...

Thoracic trauma is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in both adults and children. It is a leading cause of death in approximately 25% of multiple trauma patients and, when associated with other injuries, it causes death in additional 50% of multiple trauma patients, usually as a result of hypoxia and hypovolemia. When cardiac trauma is not involved, mortality from isolated penetrat...

INTRODUCTION — Blunt chest trauma puts multiple structures at risk of injury. In addition to direct trauma, rapid deceleration and other mechanisms can cause injury to thoracic structures. Major concerns include chest wall injury, such as rib fractures or flail chest, cardiovascular injury, such as blunt aortic injury or cardiac contusion, and pulmonary injury, such as contusions or lacerations...

Pericardial rupture after blunt chest trauma is described in the literature. The rupture is mostly caused by high velocity trauma with associated injuries. As a result the patients are often critically ill. We describe a case of a 59-year-old man who suffered from an isolated pericardial rupture with a left-sided haematothorax diagnosed 3 months after minimal blunt chest trauma. The patient was...

BACKGROUND Computerized Tomography (CT) scan is gaining more importance in the initial evaluation of patients with multiple trauma, but its effect on the outcome is still unclear. Until now, no prospective randomized trial has been performed to define the role of routine chest CT in patients with blunt trauma. OBJECTIVES In view of the considerable radiation exposure and the high costs of CT ...

DOI 0.1093/bjacepd/mkg171 Trauma accounts for more than 9000 deaths per annum in the UK. One-third are due to road traffic accidents and chest injuries are responsible for one in four of these deaths. They also play a significant part in 25% of other trauma deaths. Patients admitted with chest injuries often have associated multiple injuries. It is usual for many specialities to share the care ...

BACKGROUND Although open-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (OCCPR) is often considered as the last salvage maneuver in critically injured patients, evidence on the effectiveness of OCCPR has been based only on the descriptive studies of limited numbers of cases or expert opinions. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of OCCPR with that of closed-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (C...