Chest Trauma

흉부 외상

The purpose of this communication is to review the 390 cases of chest trauma, treated at Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, School of Medicine Kyungpook National University from 1960 to 1977. Patients were grouped into two: group `60s [1960-1969] of 103 cases and group `70s [1970-1977] of 257 cases. As the number of cases of each group showed, chest trauma cases increased three times in `70s . The main causes of trauma were auto accident, falling down, industrial injury and stab wound in that order for both groups. Eighty per cent of cases of `60s were between 20 and 59 years and 73.8% of same age range for `70s. Rib fracture of fourth to eighth rib was the most common lesion in both `60s and `70s group. The incidence of hemothorax or hemopnemothorax significantly increased among `70s group than `60s. Clinical manifestations of chest pain and dyspnea remained most frequent symptoms for both groups. The pertinent principles of treatment for the chest trauma were conservative therapy, closed thoracotomy and open thoracotomy. Closed thoracotomy was performed more freely during the period of 1970-1977, with encouraging clinical results. Very few cases of complications other than pneumothorax or hemopneumothorax occurred. Those are fibrothorax, asphyxia, atelectasis and mediastinitis. The overall mortality was 3.9% for the `60s and 2.1% for the `70s group. The possible causes of death of 14 cases of chest trauma whom died on arrival during 1970-1977 were analyzed.