Experience in the management of 50 consecutive penetrating wounds of the heart

✍ Scribed by Ashis K. Mandal; S. Okpako Awariefe; Sonny S. Oparah

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1979
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 517 KB
• Volume: 66
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0007-1323
• DOI: 10.1002/bjs.1800660814

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Fifty patients with penetrating wounds of the heart were grouped into three categories, based on the clinical severity of the injuries.

Gunshot wounds consistenly resulted in a higher mortality than knife wounds. Central venous pressure (CVP) was the single most important means of determining cardiac tamponade. The survival rates in the respective groups were 6, 79 and 100 per cent. The improved survival in our series was due to a rapid transportation system, increased awareness of the significance of cardiac injuries and an aggressive surgical approach.