From 1980 through 1993, sixty one patients having traumatic flail chest were analysised retrospectively at the Department of Thoracic and Cardivascular Surgery, Chonbuk National University Hospital.
There were 47 men and 14 women, mean age, 49.3 years, age range 4 to 82 years.
The most common mode of trauma was automobile accident, common combined other organ injuries were skeletal injury (36 patients) and neurologic injury (20 patients).
In the mode of treatment, ventilator therapy was done in 34 cases and operative stabilization was done in 18 cases (Kirschner or steel wire : 9 cases, Judet's strut : 9 cases). Sixteen patients died (26%). The main factors associated with fatal
outcome
were shock (p<0.002), head injury (p<0.005), and more than 50 years of age (p<0.05). In fatal cases, 14 patients died during in ventilator therapy (14/34, 41%) and 2 patients died following operative stabilization of chest wall (2/18, 11%).
The overall cause of death was septicemia, ARDS, ARF, hypovolemic shock, and hypoxic brain damage.
(Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1995;28:1160-6)
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