J Trauma
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From 1975 to 1987, 19 patients (pts) were operated on for a traumatic lesion of the heart or of the ascending aorta. There were 15 males and four females with a mean age of 42 years. Twelve lesions (Group I) were penetrating and seven (Group II) blunt. ⋯ Intrapericardial lesions are relatively rare in our Canadian experience. High survival can be obtained in penetrating injuries, while blunt injuries are more complex and remain highly lethal. ECC should be available for definitive treatment.
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Three hundred sixty-seven consecutive pediatric trauma deaths which occurred in Ontario between 1985 and 1987 were analyzed from the coroners' records. Injuries were classified as survivable or unsurvivable, and a preventable death rate of 20% was identified. ⋯ The causes of death in children with survivable injury suggest that the institution of prehospital resuscitation and improvement in trauma care education for physicians might reduce mortality. The high incidence of unsurvivable injury suggests that injury prevention will be more cost effective in the long term.