European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Until recently, traumatic cardiac arrest (tCA) was believed to be associated with high mortality and low survival rates. New data suggest better outcomes. The most common error in tCA management is failing to treat a tension pneumothorax (TP). In the prehospital setting, we prefer thoracostomies for decompressing a potential TP in tCA cases; however, interventions can only be recommended with adequate information on their results. Therefore, we reviewed the results of thoracostomies performed by our Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. ⋯ The outcomes of patients with tCA who underwent prehospital thoracostomy were poor in our group. The early identification of TP and strict algorithm adherence in tCA may improve outcomes. In the future, to reduce the risk of unnecessary thoracic interventions in tCA, ultrasound examination may be useful to identify TP before thoracic decompression.