Castorena RG, Ferrada R, Quijano OF, Barrón VA, Montiel FH

Language: Spanish
References: 9
Page: 172-175
PDF size: 119.59 Kb.

ABSTRACT

Trauma today represents a major cause of mortality among the general population. Trauma patients require rapid and efficient diagnosis and prompt treatment because they can become potentially very ill. Diagnosis in patients suffering from penetrating toracoabdominal trauma is difficult due to the few clinical symptoms they show that may suggest diaphragmatic involvement. Besides there are no paraclinical studies with sufficient sensitivity and specificity. We propose the use of a physiological trauma index that may predict injury in these patients. Our study includes 37 patients with penetrating toracoabdominal trauma of different etiology, that underwent complete physical examination including revised trauma score. 34 individuals developed signs and/or symptoms that indicated surgical exploration, of those, 16.2% had no demonstrable abdominal or diaphragmatic injury. Revised Trauma Score (RTS) data were correlated with surgical findings to avoid false positive cases.

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