International Surgery Journal | November 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 11 Page 3621
International Surgery Journal
Iyer S et al. Int Surg J. 2018 Nov;5(11):3621-3626
http://www.ijsurgery.com
pISSN 2349-3305 | eISSN 2349-2902
Original Research Article
Study of epidemiology and outcome of chest trauma at an apex tertiary care
trauma centre
Sandhya Iyer
1
, Mansha Singh
1
*, Vinay Jathen
2
INTRODUCTION
Trauma represents a major epidemic of non-
communicable disease in the present century. This burden
of disease accounts for almost 12% of the world’s burden
of disease.
In India over 80,000 persons die in the traffic crashes
annually. Over 1.2 million are injured seriously and about
3,00,000 disabled permanently. The economic loss
estimated to our country due to accidents amounts to
Rs.5000 crores annually.
1
Trauma strikes down society’s
youngest and potentially most productive members. Of
the innumerable modalities of accidental trauma, chest
trauma is potentially dangerous as far as risk to life is
concerned. Chest trauma is present in about 50% of
trauma victims and is the cause of death in about 25%.
2
Less than 10% of blunt chest injuries and only 15% to
30% of penetrating chest injuries require operative
intervention.
3
Present study focuses on the epidemiology
and outcome associated with both, blunt and penetrating
chest trauma, over a period of one year in our high-
volume tertiary level trauma centre in Mumbai.
Our centre is situated at the epicenter of an industrialized
area along a major national highway and at the helm of
the largest slum in Asia with a vast suburban transport
system obviously catering to a large quantum of the
population.
ABSTRACT
Background: Trauma accounts for 12% of the world’s burden of disease. Chest trauma is present in about 50% of
trauma victims and is the cause of death in about 25%. Present study focuses on the epidemiology and outcome
associated with both, blunt and penetrating chest trauma, over a period of one year in our high-volume tertiary level
trauma centre in Mumbai.
Methods: A prospective study including all patients between the ages of 18-60 years who suffered from chest trauma
and were admitted to trauma ICU over a period of one year. Master chart was maintained of all data collected and
Revised trauma Score and Apache II Score was calculated.
Results: Using Stepwise Logistic Regression Analysis it was found that factors significantly affecting mortality were
Age, Revised Trauma Score <7, Apache II score >18 and infective complications.
Conclusions: Mortality from chest trauma can be significantly reduced by development of better trauma care
systems, prevention of shock and hypoxia and adherence to strict aseptic precautions to prevent infective
complications.
Keywords: Chest trauma, RTS, APACHE II
1
Department of General Surgery, LTMGH, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
2
Department of Surgical Oncology, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Received: 24 August 2018
Accepted: 27 September 2018
*Correspondence:
Dr. Mansha Singh,
E-mail: singhmansha@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-2902.isj20184634