THORACIC GUNSHOT INJURIES

The trial comprises 29 cases of thoracic gunshot wounds among 286 thoracic trauma patients urgently hospitalized at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery of Ege University Medical Faculty, between 1991-1998The male/female ratio was 3.1, age range and the mean age were 19-64 and 36.4, respectively. Eleven (37%) of the cases were injured by shotguns. Among the associated lesions, major vascular injuries were encountered most frequently. Thoracotomy was required in nine (31%), and median sternotomy in one of the cases. Six patients (60%) were operated under emergent conditions. The mean hospital stay was 13.6 days. Morbidity rate was 57%, representing 16 patients and mortality was seen in two patients. The effect of gunshot wounds to the morbidity and to the length of stay was determined to be statistically significant (p<0.001 and p<0.05, respectively).

ATEÞLÝ SÝLAHLARLA OLUÞTURULMUÞ TORAKS YARALANMALARI

Bu çalýþma 1991-1998 yýllarý arasýnda toraks travmasý nedeniyle Ege Üniversitesi Týp Fakültesi Kalp Damar ve Göðüs Cerrahisi Anabilim Dallarý'na acil olarak yatýrýlan 286 hasta arasýndan ateþli silahlar ile oluþturulmuþ 29 yaralanma olgusunu kapsamaktadýr. Ýncelenen olgularýn erkek/kadýn oraný 3.1 olup yaþ aralýðý ve ortalamasý sýrasýyla 19-64 ve 36.4 olarak bulundu. Yaralanmalarýn 11'i av tüfeði (%37) ile oluþturulmuþtu. Yandaþ yaralanmalar arasýnda majör vasküler yaralanmalar (%66) ilk sýrada yer almakta iken, olgularýn dokuzuna (%31) torakotomi, birine (%3) median sternotomi ile müdahale edildi. Bu müdahalelerden altýsý (%60) acil koþullarda gerçekleþtirildi. Ortalama yatýþ süresi 13.6 gündü. Morbidite %57 oranýnda izlenirken, mortalite iki olgu ile %7 oranýnda saptandý. Diðer yaralanma türleri ile kýyaslandýðýnda, bu yaralanmalarýn morbidite ve yatýþ süresine etkisi istatistiksel olarak anlamlý bulundu (sýrasýyla p < 0.001 ve p < 0.05).