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Flail chest is usually associated with significant pulmonary contusion, [15] and the contusion, rather than the chest wall injury, is often the main cause of respiratory failure in people with these injuries. [69] Other indications of thoracic trauma may be associated, including fracture of the sternum and bruising of the chest wall. [63]
A chest injury, also known as chest trauma, is any form of physical injury to the chest including the ribs, heart and lungs. Chest injuries account for 25% of all deaths from traumatic injury. [ 1 ] Typically chest injuries are caused by blunt mechanisms such as direct, indirect, compression, contusion, deceleration, or blasts [ 2 ] caused by ...
The aim is to identify and manage six life-threatening thoracic conditions as Airway Obstruction, Tension Pneumothorax, Massive Haemothorax, Open Pneumothorax, Flail chest segment with Pulmonary Contusion and Cardiac Tamponade. Flail chest, tracheal deviation, penetrating injuries and bruising can be recognized by inspection.
A blunt cardiac injury is an injury to the heart as the result of blunt trauma, typically to the anterior chest wall. It can result in a variety of specific injuries to the heart, the most common of which is a myocardial contusion , which is a term for a bruise (contusion) to the heart after an injury. [ 1 ]
Traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) is a condition in which the heart has ceased to beat due to blunt or penetrating trauma, such as a stab wound to the thoracic area. [1] It is a medical emergency which will always result in death without prompt advanced medical care.
Flail chest is usually accompanied by a pulmonary contusion, a bruise of the lung tissue that can interfere with blood oxygenation. [5] Often, it is the contusion, not the flail segment, that is the main cause of respiratory problems in people with both injuries. [6] Surgery to fix the fractures appears to result in better outcomes. [7]
The injury may also affect a specific organ such as the heart, which can develop an air embolism or a cardiac tamponade (which prevents the heart from beating properly). The primary indication for a resuscitative thoracotomy is a patient with penetrating chest trauma who has entered or is about to enter cardiac arrest. [4]
There was a significant mechanism of injury (for example, a high-speed car accident, falls >20 ft); OR; The patient has an altered mental status; OR; The medical responder suspects that the patient has multi-systems trauma; If NONE of these criteria are met, the medical provider may go through a slower or more focused trauma assessment. [3]