• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 1981

A clinical evaluation was performed on 402 cases of chest trauma those were admitted and treated at the department of chest surgery, Chonnam National University Hospital, during the past 13 years and 7 months from Jan. 1968 to July 1980. 1. The ratio of male to female was 5.5:1 in 1968 and 3.4:1 in 1980 with progressive increase of female patient and age from 20 to 59 years is 81.0%. 2. The most common cause of chest trauma was stab wound in penetrating trauma and traffic accidents in nonpenetrating trauma. 3. The most common injury from chest trauma was hemothorax in penetrating trauma and rib fracture in nonpenetrating trauma. 4. Hemothorax was observed in 76 cases [18.9%] of total cases and rib fracture was observed in 163 cases [40.5%] of total cases. 5. Rib fracture was prevalent from 4th to 8th rib, and 1st and 2nd rib fractures were associated with major thoracic injuries and with other organ injuries. 6. Open thoracotomy was performed in 72 cases [17.9%] and others were treated with conservative nonoperative treatment. 7. Overall mortality was 4.5% [19 cases], and common causes of the death were shock and respiratory insufficiency.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.198-205
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• 1980

Clinical observations were performed on 373 cases of chest trauma, those were admitted and treated at the Department of surrgery, Korea University Hospital, during the past 15 years period from August 1965 to June 1980. 1. The ratio of male to female patient of chest trauma was 4:1 in male predominence and age from 10 to 50 occupied 87.4 % of the total cases. 2. The most common cause of chest trauma was traffic accident in this series. One hundred and eight one cases (48.5%) were injuried by traffic accident and total cases due to blunt trauma (non-penetrating injury) were 282 cases (75.6%) including the cases with traffic accident, and remaining 91 cases (24.4%) were due to penetrating injury including 73 cases (19.6%) of stab wounds. 3. hemopneumothorax were observed in 49% (182 cases) of the total cases, and etiologic distribution revealed 72% due to non-penetrating trauma and 28% due to penetrating injury. 4. Rib fracture was found in 44.8% of cases. common injuries associated with rib fracture were lung, brain and liver. 5. Most common symptom was chest pain and respiratory difficulty, and common sign associated with chest injury was decreased respiratory sound and subcutaneous sound. 6. conservative non-operative treatment was performed in 281 cases (75.4%) and 92 cases (24.6%) were treated with operative treatment including 33 cases (8.9%) with open thoracotomy. 7. Overall mortality was 5.6% (21 cases) and most common cause of death were due to brain edema, cardiogenic shock, asphyxia.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.488-500
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• 1978

The purpose of this communication is to review the 390 cases of chest trauma, treated at Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, School of Medicine Kyungpook National University from 1960 to 1977. Patients were grouped into two: group `60s [1960-1969] of 103 cases and group `70s [1970-1977] of 257 cases. As the number of cases of each group showed, chest trauma cases increased three times in `70s . The main causes of trauma were auto accident, falling down, industrial injury and stab wound in that order for both groups. Eighty per cent of cases of `60s were between 20 and 59 years and 73.8% of same age range for `70s. Rib fracture of fourth to eighth rib was the most common lesion in both `60s and `70s group. The incidence of hemothorax or hemopnemothorax significantly increased among `70s group than `60s. Clinical manifestations of chest pain and dyspnea remained most frequent symptoms for both groups. The pertinent principles of treatment for the chest trauma were conservative therapy, closed thoracotomy and open thoracotomy. Closed thoracotomy was performed more freely during the period of 1970-1977, with encouraging clinical results. Very few cases of complications other than pneumothorax or hemopneumothorax occurred. Those are fibrothorax, asphyxia, atelectasis and mediastinitis. The overall mortality was 3.9% for the `60s and 2.1% for the `70s group. The possible causes of death of 14 cases of chest trauma whom died on arrival during 1970-1977 were analyzed.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.296-299
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• 2012

The aorta is the most common major thoracic artery injured by blunt chest trauma. Injuries to major aortic arch branch arteries can also occur but are much less common than aortic injuries in the setting of blunt trauma. Although internal mammary artery (IMA) injury is uncommon and rarely diagnosed in cases of blunt chest trauma, it is one of the important sources of bleeding in chest trauma. IMA bleeding can cause ongoing blood loss and may lead to serious conditions such as extensive hemothorax, anterior mediastinal hematoma or its catastrophic complication, cardiac tamponade. However such arotic and branch artery injuries are not easily detected by plain radiograph, and are detected indirectly because of associated mediastinal hematoma. Herein, we report a case of IMA injury caused by blunt chest trauma secondary to pedestrian traffic accident. The injured patient was successfully treated by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE).

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to analyze chest-trauma patients and the old-aged patients with a traumatic hemopneumothorax. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 101 chest-trauma patients admitted to the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery from June 1999 to November 2008. We evaluated the general characteristics of the chest-trauma patient, especially those of old-aged patients with a traumatic hemopneumothorax. Results: Rib fracture was observed in 99 of the cases, the location distribution was right: left =261: 255, with right being dominant. Rib fractures commonly involved the 4th and the 7th rib. The average number of rib fractures was 5.1, and the average number of rib fractures in the old-aged patients was significantly higher than that in the non-old-aged patients (p=0.04). There were 17 cases of a hemopnuemothorax in old-aged patients, 52 cases in non-old-aged patients. The blood loss through the chest tube for old-aged patients was significantly more than that for the non-old-aged patients, and the initial hemoglobin level was lower in the old-aged patients. Conclusion: Elderly trauma patients are more likely to die after trauma than other age groups. Even with relatively stable vital signs, invasive hemodynamic monitoring and intensive treatment are recommended.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.480-484
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• 1991

Traumatic rupture of the main bronchus is comparatively very rare. With the advent of widespread mechanization and high-speed era, the incidence of traumatic rupture of the tracheobronchial tree has been increased considerably. Rupture of the bronchus is an unusual result of nonpenetrating trauma to the chest. Early recognition of bronchial rupture and emergency thoracotomy and management is essential for reducing of morbidity, mortality and late complications. We experienced 3 cases of bronchial rupture caused by nonpenetrating chest trauma with or without rib fracture. Patients were suffered from dyspnea and chest pain. After closed thoracostomy, corrective surgery was performed. Postoperative courses were uneventful and discharged without any complication.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.188-190
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• 2010

Sternal fracture is relatively common after blunt chest trauma, and this usually resolves without complication. But acute extrapericardial tamponade caused by sternal fracture and injury to the internal mammary artery secondary to blunt chest trauma is very rare. We report here on two cases of acute extrapericardial tamponade that were caused by blunt chest trauma.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2017

Objectives : Chronic post-thoracotomy pain is a refractory condition that responds poorly to existing pain treatments. The aim of this report is to describe favorable symptom changes in a patient with chronic post-thoracotomy pain after major chest trauma who received a series of manual acupuncture treatments over 3 months. Methods : Twelve sessions of manual acupuncture were provided to the patient, once or twice a week. Results : The manual acupuncture sessions were well tolerated. Minor adverse events, including temporary minor bleeding at the needled sites, were intermittently observed. The patient's symptoms, including pain, sleep disturbance, and anxiety gradually resolved and had almost completely disappeared after 12 sessions of acupuncture treatment. Conclusion : This single case report cannot confirm whether the observed positive changes in the patient's symptoms and dysfunctions are associated with the acupuncture treatments. Randomized controlled trials are necessary to explore the role of acupuncture in chronic post-thoracotomy pain in patients with major chest trauma.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.113-124
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• 1972

Clinical observations were performed on 150 cases of chest trauma, those were admitted and treated at the Department of Surgery, Korea University Woosok Hospital, during the past 8 years period from August 1965 to August 1972. 1. The ratio of male to female patient of chest trauma was 3.4:1 in male predominence and age from 20 to 50 occupied 62% of the total cases. 2. The most common cause of chest trauma was traffic accident in this series. Eighty-one cases[54%] were injured by traffic accident and total cases due to blunt trauma [non-penetrating injury] were 113 cases[75.4%]including the cases with traffic accident, and remaining 37 cases[24.6%] were due to penetrating injury including 25[16.6%] cases of stab wounds. 3. Hemopneumothorax were observed in 645/[96 cases] of the total cases, and etiologic distribution revealed 78.1% due to non-penetrating trauma and 20.8% due to penetrating injury. 4. Rib fracture was found in 50% of cases. Common injuries associated with rib fracture were lung, brain and liver. 5. Most common symptom was chest pain and respiratory difficulty, and common sign associated with chest injury was decreased respiratory sound and subcutaneous emphysema. 6. Conservative non-operative treatment was performed in 94 cases[62.6%] and 56 cases [37.4%] were treated with operative treatment including 31 cases[20.6%] with open thoracotomy. 7. Overall mortality was 9.3%[14 cases] and most common causes of death were due to brain edema,asphyxia and shock.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.76-83
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• 2022

Purpose: Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most common nosocomial infection in patients with mechanical ventilation. In 2013, the new concept of ventilator-associated events (VAEs) replaced the traditional concept of ventilator-associated pneumonia. We analyzed risk factors for VAE occurrence and in-hospital mortality in trauma patients who received mechanical ventilatory support. Methods: In this retrospective review, the study population comprised patients admitted to the Jeju Regional Trauma Center from January 2020 to January 2021. Data on demographics, injury characteristics, and clinical findings were collected from medical records. The subjects were categorized into VAE and no-VAE groups according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network VAE criteria. We identified risk factors for VAE occurrence and in-hospital mortality. Results: Among 491 trauma patients admitted to the trauma center, 73 patients who received ventilator care were analyzed. Patients with a chest Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥3 had a 4.7-fold higher VAE rate (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-17.9), and those with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <75 mL/min/1.73 m² had 4.1-fold higher odds of VAE occurrence (OR, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.32-14.1) and a nearly 4.2-fold higher risk for in-hospital mortality (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.30-14.3). The median VAE-free duration of patients with chest AIS ≥3 was significantly shorter than that of patients with chest AIS <3 (P=0.013). Conclusions: Trauma patients with chest AIS ≥3 or GFR <75 mL/min/1.73 m² on admission should be intensively monitored to detect at-risk patients for VAEs and modify the care plan accordingly. VAEs should be closely monitored to identify infections early and to achieve desirable results. We should also actively consider modalities to shorten mechanical ventilation in patients with chest AIS ≥3 to reduce VAE occurrence.