Objectives: To study the burden of thoracic and vascular trauma in patients, To ascertain the mode and pattern of injuries in trauma victims presenting at casualty department of Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. Method: This prospective study was conducted in the department of cardio thoracic and vascular surgery of Indira Gandhi Hospital, Shimla over a period of one year from 1st June 2014 to 31st May 2015. A total of 4267 trauma patients, with their hospital stay of more than twelve hours, admitted to various departments of I.G.M.C. trauma profile investigation was done. Results: In the present study of the poly trauma patients amongst thoracic trauma, the most common injury was single or multiple rib fractures (76.5%) followed by lung contusion (15.5%). A simple or tension pneumothorax was present in 10% of the patients whereas a flail segment was present in 7% of the cases. Five percent had an injury to the heart or a large vessel in the chest and 4% had a haemothorax. A further 4% had a sternal fracture. Other injuries included injuries to the airways and thoracic spine. Amongst the recruited patients, a total of 314 vascular injuries were identified (241 arterial, 73 venous). Two hundred and twenty three patients (87%) had arterial injuries, 37 of whom had concurrent venous injuries. Thirty-three patients (13%) had isolated venous injuries. In terms of anatomical distribution, central vascular injuries were most frequent (48%) followed by extremity (34%) and finally junctional (20%) injuries. In patients with extremity vascular injuries, the distribution of upper and lower limb injuries was similar (47% vs. 53%). Conclusion: To conclude, trauma is a major health hazard and due to the process of economic Development and modernization, there has been a phenomenal increase in trauma. However our endeavor to study the pattern of injuries and their mode could have been better if there would have been a dedicated trauma registry at our institution.
