Penetrating neck trauma: lack of universal reporting guidelines.

Penetrating neck injuries constitute a heterogeneous group. Two different classifications of zones of the neck exist in trauma literature. Injuries crossing the midline are not accurately reported. Records of 50 patients with stab wounds (30), gunshot wounds (GSWs; 17), and shotgun wounds (SGWs; 3) were reviewed. Injuries involved zone I in 8 patients, zone II in 37 patients, zone III in 8 patients, posterior triangle in 6 patients, and multiple zones in 5 patients. All 11 patients with transcervical GSWs and SGWs sustained vascular or aerodigestive injuries and had longer hospital stays (14.0 +/- 2.6 days) compared with patients with other GSWs (6.6 +/- 2.0 days) and stab wounds (3.6 +/- 0.5 days). We emphasize the lethal potential of transcervical GSWs and SGWs. We suggest that these particular injuries be reported separately. We recommend the universal adoption of one system of classification of neck zones.