Evaluation of Injuries Caused by Penetrating Chest Traumas in Patients Referred to the Emergency Room

The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of different injuries caused by penetrating chest traumas, and also the cause and type of trauma and its accompanying injuries. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried out on all patients referred to the emergency room of Shahid Bahonar Hospital, Kerman, from March 2000 to September 2008, due to penetrating chest trauma. The required information including age, sex, cause of trauma, type and site of injury, and accompanying injury was obtained and used to fill out a questionnaire and then was analyzed. 828 patients were included in the study; most of them were in the age range of 20–29. Of the patients, 97.6 % were males. The most frequent cause of trauma was stabbing, and the most frequent injuries following the trauma were pneumothorax and hemothorax. Orthopedic trauma was the most frequent accompanying injury. The most commonly used diagnostic method was plain chest radiography. In 93 % of the patients, the chest tube was placed and thoracotomy was performed for 97 % of the patients. Shahid Bahonar Hospital is a referral Trauma Centre and treats large number of chest trauma patients. Most patients need only chest tube placement as a definitive treatment.