Chest Trauma

Chest Trauma
Ashika Jain; Muhammad Waseem.
Last Update: April 20, 2024.

Chest Trauma Overview
Chest trauma represents a significant challenge in emergency medicine and trauma care, encompassing a broad spectrum of injuries ranging from minor rib fractures to life-threatening thoracic organ damage. Accidents, falls, assaults, and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are common chest trauma etiologies.
Chest trauma is the second most frequently occurring unintentional traumatic injury and the third most common cause of death after abdominal injury and head trauma in patients with polytrauma. [1] Chest trauma results in the highest mortality, reaching up to 60% in some studies. [2] In patients with severe trauma, 25% of deaths are due to chest trauma.[3] Thus, this condition is a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Injury to any vital midthoracic organ can progress rapidly. Prompt recognition, assessment, and appropriate management of chest trauma are essential to mitigate associated complications and improve patient outcomes.
Pathophysiology
Blunt or Penetrating Trauma
Thoracic injury is classified into blunt and penetrating. Blunt trauma imparts kinetic energy to the point of impact and causes direct damage to the chest and more distant sites. Penetrating trauma transfers kinetic energy into the tissues involved and is related to the square of the projectile velocity. Impairments at either the chest wall, musculature, or gas exchange influence breathing.