Abstract
Background: In Mexico, trauma is the leading cause of death in children older than 5 years.
Justification: Thoracoabdominal trauma is an underdiagnosed phenomenon, since it is commonly associated with politrauma and head injury, diagnoses with which the patients are coded.
Objective: To describe the epidemiologic characteristics of thoracoabdominal trauma in the pediatric population.
Methods: A prospective, descriptive, observational, and longitudinal study.
Results: A total of 276 patients were hospitalized, 163 (59%) of them were for trauma. Thoracoabdominal trauma occurred in n=19(6.88%) of all patients and in n=19(11.66%) of all trauma patients. Distribution by gender was male n=15(78.9%). Age range was 1 to 18 years, with a mean of 9.5 years. Isolated thoracic trauma was found in n=9(63%), isolated abdominal trauma in n=6(22%), and both traumas in n=4(15%). Automobile accidents were the most frequent cause of lesion n=7(35.84%). The most frequently injured structures were the lungs n=10(52.63%). Surgery was performed in n=7(36.84%). The most frequent surgery was pleural drainage n=3(42.86%). The mean duration of hospital stays was 5.37 days with an interval of 1 to 23 days. Mortality was n=3(15.79%).
Conclusions: In our environment traumatisms occupy more than half of inpatients. Most patients did not required surgery and the most frequent surgery performed was pleural drainage. Most of the cases fall in the field of clinicians, therefore the effort to train healthcare providers in the understanding of the anatomic, physiologic and psychosocial differences proper of the pediatric age is justified. In our unit we are a multidisciplinary team.
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Tovilla, M., Perea, S. & Toledo, M. 721 Thoracoabdominal Trauma Epidemiology on the Pediatric Population of the Hospital Universitario De Puebla During the Period August 2008 - 2009. Pediatr Res 68 (Suppl 1), 366 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-00721
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-00721