Trauma


Thoracic Trauma Information In Children

Thoracic trauma in children is synonymous with multi systemic injuries. These injuries are found in more than half of children that have thoracic traumas. This is mainly due to the fact that about ninety percent of thoracic injuries found in children are blunt injuries. This includes those injuries caused by pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents. In addition, a smaller chest compared to other parts of the child (such as the head, stomach, and extremities), also contributes to the large percentage of these injuries. Also, the younger the child is the higher probability that the abdomen will be associated with the thoracic trauma.

Frequency Of Childhood Thoracic Trauma

Childhood thoracic trauma is not the leading cause of injury, death, or hospitalization in children. The frequency of such trauma is well below that of musculoskeletal trauma, neurological trauma, and abdominal trauma. However, the disheartening news is that the mortality rate in children with thoracic trauma associated with multi systemic trauma or injuries is very high. For example, an isolated case of thoracic trauma in a child has a death rate around five percent. But when you add in an abdominal injury making it a thoracic and abdominal trauma, the death rate soars to around twenty percent. If the child has a thoracic injury with the addition of a head injury, the death rate is close to thirty five percent.

Characteristics And Treatment Of Childhood Thoracic Trauma

A thoracic injury or trauma in a child is must different to diagnose and treat than that of an adult. Childhood thoracic traumas have different characteristics than that of an adult. First, in children multi systemic injuries are also present in more than fifty percent of childhood thoracic injuries. In children, the thoracic cage is cartilaginous and the chest wall is very compliant (which leads to less actual chest wall trauma in children). If the ribs are bruised or fractured in a child, it usually means that a direct blow was made to the chest with extreme force. This is very rare to see in a child. In addition, because the mediastinum is not fixed, when tension pneumothorax occurs it is difficult for a child’s body to tolerate. Also, pulmonary contusions are sadly very common in children with thoracic injuries and traumas.

The most important part of diagnosing and treating a thoracic trauma in a child is determining whether or not it is life threatening. If it is life threatening, certain treatments must be done that are not necessary in non life threatening injuries. If the injury is correctly diagnosed, chances are much higher that the child will survive in the long run.

 

 

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