Background; Chest trauma has a high incidence in polytrauma. She meets about 41% of her, accompanied by high morbidity and mortality. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and the COVID-19 pandemic endangers overall health, posing new challenges for managing other diseases and events, including chest trauma [1]. Chest trauma combined with pulmonary contusion is one of the most common thoracic surgical emergencies [2]. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of etiology, clinical, operative techniques, and close and distant complications in thoracic trauma, treated in our hospital, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evaluation of the place that occupies thoracic trauma within the trauma in general. This is a unicentric retrospective study.
Material and method; In the study, 120 cases of thoracic trauma were reported in our hospital University Hospital of Trauma) from the period May 2020 – April 2021. Categorical and numerical variables have been analyzed in terms of etiologic, anatomical, gender, clinical, thoracic trauma, and their management…
Results; Out of 120 patients, blunt chest trauma (BChT) was found in 94(78.3%) patients; [M- 78(82.9%); F – 16(17.1%) cases], while penetrating chest trauma (PChT) was in only 26(21.7%) patients; [M- 21(80.7%); F – 5(19.3%) of cases], one hundred and two (80.9%) were males, and 24(19,1%) females, and the ratio male/female was 8:2. Approximately half of the patients treated by us have come from the district's hospitals to be treated at the UHT as a referral Trauma center.
Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in thoracic trauma. In our study, 48.3% of thoracic trauma is treated only with thoracic drain. It is important to use the thoracic drain in the right size, and its correct positioning. During the pandemic, it is essential to balance the benefit of surgery with the risks of unnecessary exposure to the virus for healthcare professionals and patients by changing the management principles.
Keywords: COVID-19, Trauma, chest, hemothorax, pneumothorax