RT Book, Section
A1 Ali, Jameel
A2 Hall, Jesse B.
A2 Schmidt, Gregory A.
A2 Wood, Lawrence D.H.
SR Print(0)
ID 2298290
T1 Chapter 95. Torso Trauma
T2 Principles of Critical Care, 3e
YR 2005
FD 2005
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071416405
LK accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=2298290
RD 2023/05/28
AB Consideration  of  abdominal  and  thoracic  injuries  as  one  complex  torso  trauma  is  a  useful  treatment  strategy.Prioritization  of  intervention  in  torso  trauma  is  based  on  the  relative  threat  to  life  from  specific  injuries.In  managing  torso  trauma,  the  surgeon  must  be  prepared  to  explore  the  chest  and/or  abdomen  because  the  source  of  instability  frequently  is  not  obvious.The  major  decision  in  assessing  the  traumatized  abdomen  is  to  recognize  the  need  for  surgical  exploration.In  general,  indications  for  surgical  intervention  in  abdominal  trauma  are  perforation,  penetration,  and  hemorrhage.An  organ-specific  diagnosis  is  not  necessary  to  establish  the  need  for  laparotomy  in  trauma.Ultrasound,  peritoneal  lavage,  and  computed  tomographic  (CT)  scan  are  important  tools  in  assessing  the  traumatized  abdomen  when  physical  examination  alone  is  unreliable.Most  thoracic  injuries  can  be  managed  appropriately  by  simple  measures  aimed  at  correcting  thoracic  sources  of  hypoperfusion  and  hypoxemia.Emergency  thoracotomy  should  be  considered  in  the  unstable  patient  who  has  a  potentially  correctable  source  of  instability  in  the  thorax.