"7.17. 釜山運動場慘事"에 依한 胸部壓迫症의 臨床的觀察 = A Report of "Traumatic Asphyxia" on 17. July at Pusan Playground

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This report is a consideration for the patients of "traumatic asphyxia" which is rare but dramatic sequel of chest trauma.
In the evening of 17- July 1959 many peoples were jostled and. crushed under the crowd which had gathered to an entrance of playground to avoid as unexpected sudden shower in the middle of some meeting (about 40,000 crowded).
By this sudden accident 60 were dead and about 100 were injured in a moment and were admitted to our hospital.
The most characterestic appearance of these injuries was a deep violet-blue discolouration of the skin and mucous membrane of the head, neck and shoulder, as far down at the upper of the chest, especially the petechial hemorrhage of conjunctiva without any external wound of the chest.
This discolouration of cyanosis is followed by petechial hemorrhage of conjunctiva without any external wound of the chest.
This discolouration of cyanosis is followed by petechial hemorrhage of .the affected parts and occasionally hemorrhage from the nose and mouth.
Some patients revealed the brain symptoms such as severe headache, temporary absence'of consciousness, E slight amnesia and restlessness without any increasing of spinal" .luid pressure. But these symptoms tended to be transient. The most patients complained of ches pain, dyspnea and loss of consciousness for brief periods.
The mechanism of these traumatic asphyxia is supposed due to the,_ fact that no competent valves are pre-sent in the superior vena Cava, back pressure not being normally present in the venous system above the lei el of the heart, As a result, any sudden raising of the intrathoracic pressure following sudden compression of the chest causes distension of the veins and capillaries draining into the superior vena cava. This may cause capillary rupture and hemorrhage of the -skin and pulmonary congestion.
These discolouration of the skin disappeared mostly in a. few days, but in one severe case the hemorrrhage of conjunctiva remained to 4 weeks after injury.
We _treated those patients with the administration of oxygen, trachial suction and rest. Except the accident was not fatal immediately, most patients were recovered -in a few days.