[Prognosis of thoracoabdominal trauma with reference to concomitant injuries]

A total of 301 patients with thoracoabdominal lesions had concomitant craniocerebral lesions (69.1%) and injuries of the locomotor system (66.1%). In 65.4% operative intervention was necessary, while 34.6% could be primarily treated conservatively. Operative emergency therapy was required in the thorax in 34.7%, and in the abdomen in 50%. Under these conditions, the mortality for the thorax was 70.6% and for the abdomen 40.5%. As a result of mostly combined causes (66%), 101 patients died (33.6%). Multiple organ failure was in the high range (80%), while the most frequent single cause of death was craniocerebral trauma, ranking before thoracic and abdominal traumata.