Management of 240 cases of penetrating thoracic injuries

We present a review of 240 patients with penetrating thoracic injuries seen in a period of 10 years at a general university hospital in Lima, Peru. The majority of the patients were young males who suffered stab wounds (76.2 per cent). The most frequent symptoms were thoracic pain (N = 202) and dyspnoea (N = 138); and the commonest physical findings were diminished respiratory sounds (N = 192) and tachypnoea (N = 167). Haemopneumothorax (N = 92), haemothorax (N = 81) and pneumothorax (N = 59) were the most frequent lesions. Cardiac lesions were present in 11 patients. The commonest extrathoracic associated lesions was penetrating abdominal injury (N = 43). The majority of the patients only required tube thoracostomy as definitive therapy (N = 143). There were 31 thoracotomies and 54 laparotomies. The most frequent complications were respiratory (N = 34) and neurological (N = 8). Gunshot wounds were more destructive than stab wounds. The first group of patients had a longer hospital stay (11.7 and 7.25 days), longer time with tube thoracostomy (5.98 and 4.18 days), more injured abdominal organs (3.8 and 2.38 organs) and higher mortality (7.01 per cent and 3.82 per cent) than the second group. The overall mortality was 4.58 per cent. The patients with a cardiac lesion had a higher mortality (27.27 per cent) than those who did not (3.49 per cent).