RT Book, Section A1 Ali, Jameel A2 Hall, Jesse B. A2 Schmidt, Gregory A. A2 Kress, John P. SR Print(0) ID 1107713504 T1 Torso Trauma T2 Principles of Critical Care, 4e YR 2015 FD 2015 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071738811 LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1107713504 RD 2024/03/29 AB Abdominal and thoracic injuries should be considered as one complex—torso trauma.Prioritization of intervention in torso trauma is based on the relative threat to life from specific injuries.In managing torso trauma, the surgeon must be prepared to explore the chest and/or abdomen because the source of instability frequently is not obvious.The major decision in assessing the traumatized abdomen is to recognize the need for surgical exploration.In general, indications for surgical intervention in abdominal trauma are perforation, penetration, and hemorrhage.An organ-specific diagnosis is not necessary to establish the need for laparotomy in trauma.Ultrasound, peritoneal lavage, and computed tomographic (CT) scan are important tools in assessing the traumatized abdomen when physical examination alone is unreliable.Most thoracic injuries can be managed appropriately by simple measures aimed at correcting thoracic sources of hypoperfusion and hypoxemia.Emergency thoracotomy should be considered in the unstable or unresponsive patient when this technique could potentially reverse the source of instability.