title: Penetrating trauma to the heart: a relatively innocent injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to examine the mortality rate of penetrating cardiac trauma in a large urban hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective study over a period of 5 years and 5 months of all patients admitted alive with a stab or a gunshot cardiac injury.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 310 patients with a stab wound and 63 with a gunshot wound. The overall mortality rate was 19%. The mortality rates for the stab and the gunshot groups were 13% and 50.7%, respectively. In the 296 patients with a cardiac stab wound confined to a single chamber and with no other associated extracardiac injury the mortality rate was 8.5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An isolated cardiac stab wound is a relatively innocent injury in a patient at a hospital accustomed to managing penetrating trauma expeditiously.
authors.affiliation: Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Velmahos
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Degiannis
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Souter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saadia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery; D013908:Thoracotomy; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery