Citation

Degiannis E, Levy RD, Sliwa K, Potokar T, Saadia R. Injury 1995; 26(4): 249-252.

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Baragwanath Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7649625

Abstract

This is a retrospective study of 72 patients with non-iatrogenic penetrating injuries of the brachial artery treated between 1991 and 1993. The mechanism of injury was stabbing in 39 per cent, a bullet in 51 per cent, pellets in 4 per cent and a dog bite in 6 per cent. We believe that angiography is rarely indicated, as in all our patients the diagnosis was made on clinical grounds. The proximity of the injury to neurovascular bundles was a poor predictor of arterial injury. One month after discharge 95 per cent of the patients had palpable distal pulses. Long-term morbidity is mainly attributed to associated nerve injuries.

Language: en