Moheb A. Rashid. Cardiothoracic Trauma. Göteborg, The Sahlgrenska Academy At Göteborg University, 2007.

Trauma in general is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and causes more loss of productive years than ischemic heart disease and malignancy together. Cardiothoracic trauma occurs in 60% of multitrauma patients and is 2-3 times more common than intra-abdominal visceral injuries. It constitutes 25% of traumatic deaths and contributes significantly to at least another 25% of these fatalities. Though only about 15% of chest trauma requires operative intervention, a considerable number of preventable deaths occur due to inadequate or delayed treatment of otherwise an easily remediable injury.