Curationis
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This study was conducted in the trauma unit of a large academic hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study aimed at describing the nature of care that patients with blunt chest injuries received during the first 48 hours after injury. A descriptive survey was chosen using retrospective and prospective record review to obtain data. ⋯ Descriptive statistics were used to present and analyse data. The study showed that: (i) Blunt chest trauma victims received a thorough initial assessment and care. No missed injuries were identified on subsequent assessment; (ii) More than half of the patients spent over one hour in the accident/emergency department before admission to the trauma ward or intensive care unit (ICU); (iii) Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) were the commonest cause of injury while pedestrian vehicle accidents (PVA) were often fatal; (iv) Nurses are good providers of care but poor in prescribing and documenting care; (v) Pain assessment and psychosocial care was often neglected; (vi) Less than half the patients developed complications during the first 48 hours; pain and pneumonia being the most common complications encountered.