[Thoracic trauma: analysis of 124 patients who underwent thoracotomy].

OBJECTIVE To analyze patients who underwent thoracotomy for the treatment of chest trauma in the City of Manaus. METHODS We performed a retrospective study through analyzed records in the two main reference hospitals for trauma adults in this city during a period of 5 years. We considered for this study the epidemiological data, causal agent, type of incision, anatomical classification score of trauma, prognostic factors and mortality. RESULTS We analyzed 124 patients who underwent thoracotomy with a mean age of 28 years. Stab wounds were the most common casual agent (68%). The main indication for thoracotomy was massive hemothorax with 50.7% of cases, followed by cardiogenic or hypovolemic shock with 48.4%. There were 28 deaths (20.6%). Patients with vena cava injuries (5 patients) and aorta lesions (2 patients) had 100% mortality rate. There was a higher mortality in patients with major index of trauma (p = 0004), and largest quantity of blood transfused (p = 0090). CONCLUSION Thoracic trauma patients submitted to exploratory thoracotomy were young, males and victims of stab wound trauma. The most contributing death factors were the lethal anatomical score, more than 15 points, and the association with major vascular lesions, as the aorta and vena cava.