Características epidemiológicas del trauma de tórax en el servicio de emergencia del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso durante el año 2013

Abstract

Objective To determine the epidemiological characteristics of chest trauma in the emergency room of the "Vicente Corral Moscoso" Hospital in 2013. Methodology A descriptive study was conducted during 2013. Data were recorded on a form which was then entered and tabulated in SPSS 18. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were obtained. Results 490 cases of chest trauma were recorded; 78.4% in men, the average age was 37.9 years (SD 18.5). The main causes were high level falls and automobile accidents. The most frequent were falls in men and accidents in women. 76.9% had superficial lesions of the chest, followed by fractures of ribs, sternum and scapula (7.2%) and hemothorax (6.3%). The death rate was estimated at 6,14x1000. All deaths occurred in men older than 19 years; the most common injury was hemothorax (66.7%). 16.9% of men required hospitalization rate being lower in women (6.6%).The treatment in 87.7% of cases was clinical; 29 cases (5.9%) required the placement of a chest tube. Conclusions The chest trauma is more common in young adult males; the most frequent causes are falls and car accidents taking variation by sex. Most of patients present superficial injuries that do not need surgical treatment or hospitalization. Mortality occurs in males, mainly product of violence; the main lethal lesion was hemothorax.