How long would you be in the hospital if...?

Question

How long would you be in the hospital if, you broke about 3 ribs, and were stabbed in the shoulder?

-The stab was from a clean knife, and didn't hit any major arteries.

-The person is physically fit, and healthy

-It was a guy

-The broken ribs were caused by being kicked

P.S. I need to know for a story I'm writing.

Thanks In Advance!!! :P

Answer 1

All depends on how good your insurance is, sounds weird but true. If they know they can get money they keep you and keep you ,other wise maybe two days.

Answer 2

It would probably depend if you has insurance or not, and how deep the puncture wound was. I would say overnight for observation, assuming the broken ribs did not cause additional damage, or

have any affect on the man's ability to breathe.

Answer 3

Fun question! Ok I'm game.

Well, the questions I want to ask are:

Did the ribs break? or crack? did they puncture the lung?

If no puncture... three broken ribs would be an overnight of observation to make sure there was no embolism or complications.

The stab. No major arteries? Ok. How clean was the knife? You said clean, but clean in life and clean in a stab is totally different. It's unlikely the assailant disinfected the blade before plunging it into this guy. Also, arteries are not the only major issue. I assume you mean no veins either; did he hit bone? You'd think no biggie, but there would be a risk of osteomyelitis (bone infection) if he did. In fact, that's probably the biggest risk for him overall... infection. He'd really be at risk for osteomyelitis and sepsis.

But I digress... ok let's say you're looking for the absolute shortest time, with no complications and no problems... he could be out of there in twelve hours. They'd need to x-ray, sew him up, run some blood cultures, monitor a bit, make sure no internal bleeding. If you're looking for a typical time.. ER overnight, ICU for a day, floor for a day, home.

Hope that helps. Good luck!