Patients with penetrating cardiac trauma operated on at the "Guillermo Domínguez López" General Teaching Hospital, Puerto Padre

Abstract

Background: penetrating cardiac trauma is a serious injury with high mortality and a challenge for emergency surgeons.

Objective: to describe the patients with penetrating cardiac trauma operated on at the "Guillermo Domínguez López" General Teaching Hospital of Puerto Padre, from January 2010 through April 2019.

Methods: a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out with a population consisting of twelve patients who suffered cardiac or pericardial injuries, with or without associated lesions, who received emergency surgery at the aforementioned hospital and during the period herein stated. The following variables were assessed: sex, age group, hemodynamic status at admission, offending agent or object, anatomical site of the injury, surgical approach route, associated lesions, complications, mortality and postoperative stay.

Results: 83,34 % of the patients were men, two thirds were less than 40 years old, with a mean age of 31,4 years. In all of them the offending agent was a sharp object. Chest X-ray and echocardiogram were positive for all. Eight wounds were in the myocardium (grade IV), receiving suturing, and four in the pericardium (grade I), with associated injuries in 33,33 %. The thorax approach route was left anterolateral thoracotomy in all, with one deceased and 8,1 days of average hospital stay.

Conclusions: patients with penetrating cardiac trauma operated on at the hospital were described, who had low mortality and an average stay of eight days.