Thoracic injury:a review of 276 cases

Objective: Chest injury, one of the most important aspects of trauma, directly accounts for 25% of all traumarelated deaths and plays a major contributing role in another 25% of trauma deaths. This paper aimed to explore the spectrum and outcome of thoracic injuries seen in a multi centric study of trauma patients.Methods: A total of 276 consecutive trauma patients in 6 general hospitals were analyzed. The feature of injury,injury severity score (ISS), clinical treatment and mortality were recorded in a prospective manner and analyzed retrospectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent predictors of mortality following the chest trauma.Results: There were 246 males ( 89.1%) and 30 females (10.9% ) ranging from 3 to 80 years with a mean age of (34 ± 17) years. Road traffic accident was the main cause of injury, especially for pedestrians, followed by stab wound (89 cases, 32.1% ) and falling injuries (32 cases,11.6% ), respectively. Haemothorax or pneumothorax (50.4%) and rib fracture (38.6%) were the most common types of chest injury. Extremity fracture was the most common associated injury with the rate of 37% ( 85/230), followed by head injury (25.2% ) and abdominal trauma (19.6%). These injuries contributed significantly to the morbidity and mortality of trauma patients.Conclusions: According to the results, most patients with chest injury can be treated conservatively with close observation and tube thoracostomy. The presence of blunt trauma, head injury and abdominal injury independently adversely affect mortality after chest trauma. It is necessary to investigate the causes and patterns of injuries resulting from stab wound for effective prevention.

Chest injury in victims of Bam earthquake

Objective： To analyze the data of trauma patients with thoracic injury in the earthquake of Bam admitted to hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Science （ TUMS ） for better understanding the type and consequence of thoracic injuries in a major earthquake. Methods： After Barn earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale, 526 trauma patients were admitted to hospitals of TUMS. Among them, 53 patients sustained thoracic injury. Results： This group was composed of 21 females （39.6%） and 32 males （60.4%）. Fifteen patients （28.3%） had isolated chest injuries. Rib fracture （36.4 % ） was the most common injury in our patients and haemo/pneumothorax （ 25.5 % ） followed. Superficial injury was the most common accompanying injury. Multiple- trauma patients with chest injury had higher injury severity score （ISS） versus patients with isolated chest injury （P =0.003）. Conclusions： Chest wall injuries and haemo/ pneumothorax comprise a considerable number of injuries in survival victims of earthquakes. Consequently, the majority of these patients can be treated with observation or tube thoracostomy. We should train and equip the health workers and members of rescue teams to treat and manage these patients in the field.

Diagnostic accuracy of CT scan in abdominal blunt trauma

Objective： To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of CT scan findings in patients with blunt abdominal trauma admitted to the university hospital. Methods： All the patients with blunt abdominal trauma admitted at a tertiary teaching trauma center in Iran between 2005 and 2007 were enrolled in this study. In the absence of any clinical manifestations, the patients underwent a diagnostic CT scan. Laparatomy was performed in those with positive CT results. Others were observed for 48 hours and discharged in case no problem was reported; otherwise they underwent laparatomy. Information on patients＇ demographic data, mechanism of trauma, indication for CT scan, CT scan findings, results of laparotomy were gathered. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the CT-scan images in regard with the organ injured were calculated. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the CT scan were calculated in each case. Results： CT scan had the highest sensitivity for detecting the injuries to liver （100%） and spleen （86.6%）. The specificity of the method for detecting retroperitoneal hematoma （100%） and injuries to kidney （93.5%） was higher than other organs. The accuracy of CT images to detect the injuries to spleen, liver, kidney and retroperitoneal hematoma was reported to be 96.1%, 94.4%, 91.6% and 91.6% respectively. Conclusion： The findings of the present study reveal that CT scan could be considered as a good choice, especially for patients with blunt abdominal trauma in teaching hospitals where the radiologic academic staff is not present in the hospital in the night shifts.