Management of Chest Trauma

75% of patients who die from trauma have injuries to the chest. The care of the chest trauma patient can be incredibly complex, require multiple specialty and sub-specialty services, and may require interventions available only at quaternary referral centers. This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of chest trauma. The text reviews all aspects of chest wall, intra-thoracic organ, and great vessel injury management, with each section of the book structured anatomically to explore specific treatment options. The first section of the book contains an overview and introduction to the topic, discussing the definition and significance of chest trauma, initial resuscitation of the chest trauma patient, and centers of excellence, health systems, and regionalization. The following section is focused on chest wall injury, with chapters on acute rib fractures, sternal fracture, clavicle and scapula fractures, non-surgical aids in fracture healing, and anesthesia considerations. The next section spotlights thoracic organ injury, specifically focusing on cardiac injury, aorta and great vessel injury, esophageal injury, tracheal and pulmonary injury, and thoraco-abdominal and combined injuries. Since injury care alone is insufficient in guiding the totality of care, the fourth section is dedicated to inpatient critical care. Topics covered in this section include principles of ICU resuscitation, coagulopathy management, ICU monitoring, ventilator management, and advanced acute pain management. With the increase in violent extremism around the world, including the use of non-conventional weapons, as well as the plethora of natural and man-made disasters, disaster and mass casualty events is the timely subject of the book’s final section. Specific topics tackled in this section include blast injury, blast lung, pulmonary aspiration, thoracic crush injury after natural and man-made disasters, toxic agent exposures, the role of the local facility during a national disaster, and the ethics of resource of allocation. The text also features over 100 high-yield illustrations, photographs, and tables.