Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess various epidemiological factors and various clinical presentations of traumatic chest injuries in a tertiary care centre. Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Surgery, Nehru Hospital, BRD Medical College, over a period of 12 months. All patients admitted with traumatic chest injury were included. 70 patients were included in the study. Results: Majority of the patients were males (81.4%), while 18.6% were females. Road traffic accident was reported among 70% of the patients, followed by fall from height (17.1%) and the assault (12.9%). Chest pain was the most common presenting complaint reported by 94.3% of the patients, while dyspnoea was reported by 48.6%. Among them 42.9% reported chest pain and dyspnoea. In inspection, abrasion was present in 41.4%, followed by contusion (7.1%) and flail segment (2.8%). In palpation, tenderness was present in 40%. On percussion, resonant note was observed in majority of the patients (61.4%), followed by dull note on the right side (11.5%) and left side (8.5%). 9.9% had hyper-resonant note. On auscultation, majority had equal air entry B/L (58.5%). 15.7% each showed decreased air entry in left and right side. 10% showed bilateral decrease in the air entry. HRCT was done among 21.4% of the patients. After tube thoracotomy majority were found to have hemothorax (65.5%), while 41.3% had pneumothorax. Among them, 17.2% had both hemothorax and pneumothorax. Among the patients, majority had conservative management (68.6%) while 31.4% had operative management. The mortality rate was 5.7%, while 87.1% were discharged and 7.1% were referred on the patient request.

Description