• Martins O Thomas and Ezekiel O Ogunleye.
• Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, College of Medicine of University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
• Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann. 2005 Jun 1; 13 (2): 103-6.

AbstractPenetrating chest trauma occurs worldwide, and various accounts of it have been reported in the literature.(1)(-)(5) Blunt trauma is not usually associated with military or civilian violence, while penetrating chest trauma often is. Penetrating chest trauma is frequently caused by gunshots and non gunshot-related incidents such as stabs, traffic accidents, and impalements. This prospective study was conducted to determine a pattern of penetrating thoracic injuries, including their causes, the role of surgery, and intervention outcomes. In this study, we treated 168 patients (142 males and 26 females, giving a male-to-female ratio of 5.5:1). Gunshots caused 60.1% of the injuries while traffic accidents caused 27.3% of the injuries. Chest tube insertion alone was the main treatment initiated. This technique was used on 73.8% of the patients. To reduce the occurrence of penetrating chest trauma in Lagos, Nigeria, study results suggest that the Nigerian people and their property need greater security, and that pre-hospital level of care for trauma victims must improve.

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