J Trauma
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Emergency room thoracotomy (ERT) can be life saving in patients with penetrating chest injury. A protocol was established at our institution stating that ERT be performed for cases of cardiac tamponade secondary to penetrating chest trauma on patients with vital signs/mentation in the field or on arrival to the emergency room. To validate our protocol, we reevaluated patients undergoing ERT at our institution. ⋯ We believe that the data validate our protocol, and the establishment of a guideline has enabled us to maximize patient survival and minimize exposure risks to our staff.