The following is a summary of “Earthquake-related isolated blunt thoracic trauma patients: A special population study in the emergency department,” published in the January 2024 issue of Emergency Medicine by Ozel, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to compare the characteristics of patients with severe and mild blunt thoracic trauma following an earthquake, focusing on identifying factors influencing the severity of trauma in earthquake-related thoracic injuries.

The retrospective, cross-sectional, observational comparative study included patients with isolated thoracic injuries from the February 6th Kahramanmaraş earthquake. Patients were categorized into severe and mild groups based on chest trauma scoring (CTS), and their characteristics were compared.

Out of 53 patients included in the study, 43 (88.1%) had mild thoracic trauma, while 10 (18.9%) had severe thoracic trauma. There was no significant difference in the entrapment duration between the groups (P = 0.824). Incidence of hemothorax, pneumothorax, rib fractures, and pneumomediastinum did not significantly differ between the groups (P > 0.05). However, severe thoracic trauma was associated with a higher rate of lung contusion compared to the mild group (P = 0.045). The severe group had significantly higher median scores for lung contusion, rib fractures, and total CTS compared to the mild group (P < 0.001). The mortality rate was significantly higher in the severe group (40%, n = 4) compared to the mild group (2.3%, n = 1) (P = 0.003).

Duration of entrapment did not significantly influence the severity of thoracic injuries in earthquake-related blunt thoracic trauma. However, lung contusion was more prevalent in these injuries compared to other clinical conditions such as hemothorax and pneumothorax. The findings underscored the unique clinical implications of earthquake-related thoracic trauma and suggested potential implications for management strategies in these cases.

Reference: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675723006022