Introduction:

Management of penetrating neck trauma in stable patients according to the affected Monson zone directs the diagnostic tests to identify vascular, airway and digestive tract lesions.

Materials and methods:

A retrospective descriptive observational study was conducted. We included 15 year-old or older patients with penetrating neck trauma that consulted at the two hospitals of the Sociedad de Cirugía in Bogotá, Colombia, during a 5 to 6 year period. Demographic and clinical information was collected, as well as the results of the diagnostic tests applied in order to determine their utility. Qualitative variables were described with relative and absolute frequencies and quantitative variables with median and standard deviations.

Results:

148 patients were enrolled initially, of which 133 were classified as stable during the primary assessment, with an average age of 33.04 years (SD: 12.9), the majority being men (88.7%). The median hospital stay was 2 days (IQR=1-4 days). The most frequent wound mechanism was a sharp bladed weapon in 117 cases (87.9%). A low proportion of abnormal findings were reported in the diagnostic tests, except for angiography CT which was performed in 59 patients with 43 with abnormal findings. Surgical management was defined for 7 patients classified as stable at admission and for 14 patients after abnormal findings found in the diagnostic tests. Five deaths were registered.

Conclusion:

Physical examination, clinical observation and angiography CT are sufficient to identify vascular, airway and digestive lesions in patients with penetrating neck trauma at hospitals that are not considered specialized in trauma.

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