The use of serial chest radiographs (CXRs) to evaluate patients with penetrating thoracic trauma is common practice. However, the time interval between these studies and the duration of observation remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a noncontrast chest CT is as reliable as a 6-hour CXR for detecting delayed pneumothorax (PTX) after penetrating thoracic trauma. Hemodynamically stable patients with isolated penetrating thoracic trauma were prospectively evaluated with a CXR and a noncontrast chest CT. If there was no PTX or hemothorax, or a finding that did not require immediate intervention, a 6-hour CXR was obtained. Findings were treated as clinically indicated and patients were discharged if all three studies were negative. One hundred eighteen patients were evaluated (89 stab wounds and 29 gunshot wounds). All initial CXRs were negative. CT identified six PTXs and one hemothorax. Two patients required operative intervention. There were no delayed findings on CXR provided the CT was negative. The mean time to CT and before disposition was 19 minutes and 8 hours, respectively, with a potential decrease in charges of $313.32 per patient. The use of serial CXRs provided no additional information that was not available on the initial chest CT, allowing for expedited discharge, decompressing overcrowded emergency areas, and reducing the number of patients leaving before completion of their work-up.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 June 2012.
All research outputs
#7,605,073
of 28,841,988 outputs
Outputs from The American Surgeon
#455
of 2,875 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#30,229
of 95,465 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The American Surgeon
#4
of 12 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 28,841,988 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,875 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.0. This one has done well, scoring higher than 82% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 12 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 66% of its contemporaries.
