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BMC Emergency Medicine
Published in: BMC Emergency Medicine 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Case report

Thoraco- abdominal impalement injury: a case report

Authors: Gyanendra Malla, Bibhusan Basnet, Rais Vohra, Casey Herrforth, Shailesh Adhikari, Amit Bhandari

Published in: BMC Emergency Medicine | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Background

Impalement injury is an uncommon presentation in the emergency department (ED), and penetrating thoraco-abdominal injuries demand immediate life-saving measures and prompt care. Massive penetrating trauma by impalement in a pediatric case represents a particularly challenging presentation for emergency providers in non-trauma center settings.

Case presentation

We report a case of 10 year old male who presented in our ED with an alleged history of fall from an approximately 15 foot tall coconut tree, landing over an upright bamboo stake approximately 50 centimeter long, resulting in a trans-abdomino, trans-thoracic injury. In addition to prompt resuscitation and hospital transfer, assessment of damage to vital structures in conjunction with surgical specialty consultation was an immediate goal.

Conclusion

This article describes a case study of an impalement injury, relevant review of the available literature, and highlights the peculiar strategies required in the setting of a resource limited ED.
Appendix
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Literature
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Robicsek F, Daugherty HK, Stansfield AV: Massive chest trauma due to impalement. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1984, 87: 634-636.PubMed
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Eder F, Meyer F, Huth C, Halloul Z, Lippert H: Penetrating abdomino-thoracic injuries: report of four impressive, spectacular and representative cases as well as their challenging surgical management. Pol Przegl Chir. 2011, 83: 117-122.PubMed
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Mohan R, Ram DU, Baba YS, Shetty A, Bhandary S: Transabdominal impalement: absence of visceral or vascular injury a rare possibility. J Emerg Med. 2011, 41: 495-498. 10.1016/j.jemermed.2008.03.033.CrossRefPubMed
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Metadata
Title
Thoraco- abdominal impalement injury: a case report
Authors
Gyanendra Malla
Bibhusan Basnet
Rais Vohra
Casey Herrforth
Shailesh Adhikari
Amit Bhandari
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Emergency Medicine / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 1471-227X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-227X-14-7

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