Penetrating pediatric trauma owing to improper child safety seat use

Two lucky survivors of thoracic impalement in childhood: case report and literature review

“…There are only a handful of case reports describing it in children. As the number of patients is low; many rely on experience from treating adults [2,3]. Here we try to review the limited literature on isolated thoracic impalement in children and discuss our experience.…”

“…It has to be stabilized to avoid aggravating the injury. The commonly used method in the field is applying bulky dressings around the exposed part of the object [3,5] Patients have to be transported quickly but a large impalement may create difficulties [8]. Sometimes the usual supine position will be impossible and lateral positions would be appropriate [5].…”

“…On initial presentation, the dramatic nature can be distracting [14]. However, it should not be forgotten that these injuries have a component of blunt trauma due to the high force required to produce such an injury [3,4,8]. We should conduct a thorough examination to exclude subtle associated injuries.…”

“…We should conduct a thorough examination to exclude subtle associated injuries. This includes monitoring for airway compromise or cardiovascular instability [3,8].…”

“…Penetrating thoracic injury is uncommon in children [1,2]. It usually occurs in older boys while undertaking dangerous activities and can be more devastating than in adults [1][2][3]. Thoracic impalement is the severest form of these penetrating injuries where the object remains in the human body [4,5].…”