Thoracic Trauma in the Province of Cienfuegos. A Three-year Study

Abstract

Background: thoracic traumas have a high incidence in today's society and they are very important due to the nature of the organs located inside the chest. Objective: to characterize thoracic trauma. Methods: a case series study was conducted at the Department of General Surgery of the Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital in Cienfuegos. All 184 patients treated for thoracic trauma and admitted to the department in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 were studied. Variables analyzed were: age, sex, skin color, occupation, place where the accident occurred, cause of trauma, affected anatomical site, clinical presentation, treatment, patient’s condition at discharge and compliance with good clinical practice guidelines. Results: most patients were males aged 41 to 31 years. Stab wounds predominated. Pleura and lung were the most affected anatomical sites while closed pneumothorax was the most frequent clinical presentation. Adherence to good clinical practice guidelines was appropriate in 92% of the cases. Conclusions: thoracic trauma differs in some aspects when compared to other countries because of social and economic differences.

Keywords

• traumatismos torácicos
• heridas y traumatismos
• cirugía torácica
• cuba