Chest Injury Evaluation and Management in Two Major Trauma Centers of Isfahan Province, IR Iran

BACKGROUND: Chest trauma is responsible for 50% of deaths due to trauma. This kind of death usually occurs immediately after the trauma has occurred. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the various aspects of chest trauma in patients admitted to two main trauma centers located in the Isfahan Province, Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a six month period, a cross-sectional study of 100 patients who had sustained a chest injury was carried out. Data, including; age, sex, time of accident, trauma mechanism, organ injury, hospitalization length, complications, and patient outcomes were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The mean ages of the patients were 24.7 ± 3.1 years. Men were injured four times more often than the women. Blunt trauma was the most common type of injury. The incidence of hemothorax was 38% in blunt traumas, and 45% (P = 0.01) in penetrating ones. The incidence of pneumothorax was 43% in blunt traumas and 20% in penetrating ones (P = 0.03). The length of hospitalization was 7.2 ± 3.2 days for blunt and 10.1 ± 3.1 days for penetrating chest traumas. Five patients (5%) died during hospitalization, three of those deaths were due to arterial injuries and two cases were due to lung contusions. CONCLUSIONS: Since hemothorax is the main complication of blunt chest trauma in young men, we recommend that special consideration needs to be made to any case of chest trauma, especially blunt chest injuries.