SIGNIFICANCE OF CHEST TRAUMA IN CHILDREN

Chest trauma in children is a marker of injury severity and is associa ted with a high mortality rate, This retrospective study of 1,356 trau ma patients from a private pediatric hospital over a 2.5-year period i dentified 82 patients with chest injuries and a mortality rate of 22%, Results of Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale, and Revised Tra uma Score all indicated that children with chest injuries sustained mo re severe injuries, The presence of any extrathoracic injury was assoc iated with a higher mortality (29%) than chest injury alone (4.3%). Th e type of extrathoracic injury was important, with head and neck injur ies resulting in the highest mortality, Specific chest injuries, such as rib fractures and pulmonary contusions, were not related to increas ed mortality unless there was an associated extrathoracic injury, Many reports have shown a high mortality associated with chest trauma, Thi s study suggests that it is the associated extrathoracic injury, rathe r than the chest injury itself, that is the real cause of the high mor tality.