A chest injury (ICD-10 code: S20) is a fairly common injury. No one is immune from this mechanical damage. An unforeseen situation with similar consequences can occur in both adults and children. At a young age, the skeleton is not yet fully formed, so a slight blow will be enough to get a serious injury in the chest area.
According to medical statistics, a number of the most common causes of such mechanical damage can be distinguished:
- a consequence of an accident (a chest blow on the steering wheel after a head-on collision if the belt was not fastened);
- getting hit in the chest with a dull, heavy object;
- a fall.
After a chest injury (ICD-10: S20), it is important to undergo an appropriate examination as soon as possible to identify the effects of damage, since some of them can cause serious harm to the body.
What is a bruised chest area
Mechanical damage to this part of the body is a dangerous injury. The integrity of the skeleton and internal organs is not a reason to feel calm. As a result of such an injury, vessels, soft tissues and nerve endings can usually be injured. In this case, scratches and bruises form at the site of the shock.
It often happens that the consequences of an injury do not appear immediately. This is mainly due to the gradual disruption of the functioning of internal organs due to a bruise of the chest. After a stroke, treatment should be prescribed in a timely manner. Such consequences, depending on the severity of the damage, can be life threatening. Indeed, in the chest area are located such important organs for human life as the heart and lungs. If cracks in the ribs formed as a result of the injury, this may indicate more serious consequences for internal organs. Therefore, it is imperative to seek qualified help as soon as possible.
Clinical manifestations
Symptoms of a chest injury and its consequences depend on the severity of the injury. Depending on the nature of the damage, the attending physician should prescribe an effective therapeutic course based on objective data obtained from the examination. Manifestations of post-traumatic syndrome are usually divided into two types: general and local.
Local symptoms
Local symptoms include the following:
- Pain in the injured sternum. Such a manifestation, depending on the nature of the damage and the individual characteristics of the body, may be aching, intense or pulsating. Throbbing pain mainly indicates damage to nerve endings, but in some cases this may indicate cardiac pathology. Pain in this case manifests itself both at rest and during movement. Especially acute pain begins to appear with coughing or deep breathing.
- A hematoma may form at the site of a chest injury. If its location is limited to the place directly on which the mechanical effect was exerted, this indicates an injury to blood vessels, as a result of which an internal hemorrhage occurred. An enlarged bruise beyond the site of injury is one of the symptoms of complications.
After receiving mechanical damage at the site of injury, edema can be observed. This indicates the accumulation of lymph in adjacent tissues.
Common symptoms
Common symptoms include:
- increase in body temperature to subfebrile values;
- the development of arrhythmia;
- general malaise.
A chest injury (ICD-10 code: S20) resulting from a severe injury can lead to disturbances in the functioning of the respiratory system or to a complete stop of breathing. Respiratory failure may develop . In most cases, if a lot of time has passed since the damage was received, the symptoms become less pronounced. However, this does not mean that the threat to life and health has passed. A visit to the doctor should not be postponed due to this. A bruise of the chest leads to a number of consequences and complications, which subsequently can adversely affect the life of the body. Many of them manifest over time.
Most common complications
A chest injury, depending on the severity, in most cases leads to the following injuries:
- lung tissue damage;
- fracture of ribs or the formation of cracks in them;
- damage to the heart muscle.
In the presence of such injuries, the following symptoms can be observed in the victim:
- shallow breathing, the patient cannot take a full and deep breath;
- pulsating pain syndrome, which becomes more intense when you touch the damaged area;
- severe throbbing pain on the left side, usually indicating a heart injury.
If the pleura was damaged as a result of a chest injury (ICD-10: S20), then without timely medical intervention it will lead to the development of serious diseases: pneumothorax or hemothorax.
First Aid Advice
There are a number of actions, the implementation of which can greatly facilitate the condition of the victim before the arrival of the ambulance crew:
- The victim must wait until the ambulance arrives in a half-sitting position.
- It is recommended to apply a compressive, but not rigid bandage to the damaged area. This is necessary to limit the movement of the chest during breathing, which will greatly alleviate the pain syndrome.
- Apply a cold compress to the injury site. This will reduce the likelihood of severe swelling and extensive hematoma.
- If the victim suffers severe pain that does not go away within 10-15 minutes after receiving injuries, then before the ambulance crew arrives, you can offer him to drink a tablet of an effective pain medication (Analgin, Ibuprofen, Nurofen, Ketanov and other).
Therapy
The treatment of a chest injury after receiving a stroke depends on the severity of the damage. In any case, it is necessary to seek qualified medical help as soon as possible and undergo an appropriate examination. If the result of the blow is only damage to the soft tissues, and the bones and internal organs are not injured, then it is quite possible to undergo a therapeutic course prescribed by a specialist at home. If a large amount of blood has accumulated in the chest area after receiving an injury, then the patient needs an operation, during which it is necessary to remove the hematoma that has formed and to sew the damaged blood vessels.
Treatment at home, first of all, is aimed at relieving pain, so the doctor can recommend regular use of analgesics, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs for external use for two weeks.
Physiotherapy
If you get a chest injury after an impact, it is advisable to turn to physiotherapy. Such procedures restore damaged tissue, contribute to the resorption of edema and the rapid healing of scars. As a rule, the doctor may schedule a visit to one or more procedures within two weeks:
- electrophoresis;
- background therapy;
- paraffin baths.
Warming up is permissible only three days after injury.
Complications
If a bruise in the chest led to a fracture of the rib, it is important to pay attention to the color of the patient's lips. If their color is blue, then this may indicate damage to the rib of the lung tissue by a fragment. In this case, surgical intervention is advisable in a hospital setting, since delay can pose a serious threat to the life of the victim.
Fractures of the lateral and anterior parts of the ribs create special discomfort, as they interfere with normal breathing. In this case, the victim shows signs of tachycardia, and the skin becomes pale in color. With such injuries, treatment should be carried out exclusively in a hospital hospital.
Damage due to a bruise of the chest that poses a threat to the life of the victim
A chest injury (ICD-10 code: S20) can lead to such dangerous consequences for the body as:
- pathological mobility in the chest;
- lung tissue damage;
- development of post-traumatic pathologies (pneumothorax, hemothorax, chylothorax);
- damage to the organs of the respiratory system, which leads to the impossibility of a deep breath;
- mechanical damage to the heart muscle;
- damage to large vessels in the chest;
- damage to the digestive system;
- asphyxia;
- diaphragm injury;
- heart concussion.
The latter complication deserves special attention, since it often leads to a sudden death.
Heart concussion
Heart concussion is the most common consequence of closed injuries due to a bruised chest. With the development of this pathology, the right ventricle most often suffers, however, in some cases, with severe mechanical damage to the left side of the chest, the victim may experience a myocardial rupture, which, without qualified and timely medical help, can lead to sudden death. Such damage is mainly accompanied by throbbing pain in the region of the heart, and in some cases the patient may complain of difficulty breathing.
Timely diagnosis and the right therapeutic course minimize the likelihood of sudden death. Therefore, it is extremely important to consult a doctor as soon as possible with a severe chest injury (ICD-10: S20).
Diagnostics
With severe mechanical damage to the chest, it is extremely important to establish the correct diagnosis as soon as possible and determine the factors that can pose a threat to the life of the victim. If these are identified during the examination, it is important to provide the patient with appropriate assistance. Diagnostic procedures are prescribed by a traumatologist after an initial examination and assessment of the patient's condition. In severe cases, an emergency operation is possible to stop internal bleeding.
If the condition of the victim is within normal limits, then the doctor prescribes selectively one or more diagnostic procedures:
- X-ray of the area that caused the damage;
- cardiogram;
- blood donation to determine clinical and biochemical parameters;
- thoracoscopy;
- pleural puncture;
- bronchoscopy;
- magnetic resonance imaging (rarely);
- echocardiogram.
Based on objective data from the examination results, the attending physician determines the patient’s condition and prescribes the appropriate therapeutic course. In the absence of serious damage that could pose a threat to life or contribute to the development of complications, the victim is sent home for self-treatment.
General recommendations
If the treatment of a chest injury is carried out at home, then the doctor’s instructions regarding the general regimen and taking medications should be strictly observed. Do not experiment and self-medicate. Even the use of traditional medicine recipes without prior coordination with a specialist can lead to negative consequences.
In no case should you independently diagnose and self-medicate. This can lead to the development of serious complications that will entail irreversible consequences for the body.
If you get injured and the first symptoms appear, it is important to consult a specialist in time. This will help to heal the bruise faster and avoid complications.