[Treatment of chest injuries in intensive care. Critical review of 54 clinical cases].

All 54 chest trauma patients admitted to Resuscitation II of Pavia's S. Matteo Polyclinic in the period 1974-1979 have been reviewed in a critical analysis. Particular attention was paid to mortality in relation to age, associated pathology, treatment and the complications arising during the course of the trauma. Resuscitation Centres are identified as the ideal places for treating these patients. Cranio-encephalic and superimposed abdominal lesions are the main factors pointing to an unfavourable prognosis, and protection against infectious complications is the key to therapy.