The purpose of this study was focused on the imaging features of the chest trauma and its relation to clinical characteristics. All the injured patients were from the Yushu Earthquake areas on days April 14 - 23,2010....The purpose of this study was focused on the imaging features of the chest trauma and its relation to clinical characteristics. All the injured patients were from the Yushu Earthquake areas on days April 14 - 23,2010. After an initial treatment,the injurers were rapidly transported from Yushu at an altitude of 4 000 m via air to Xining at 2 260 m within 6~8 h,and promptly admitted to Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital. A total of 130 wounded injurers who had high suspicion of chest injuries all had examinations of Chest X-ray and computed tomography(CT)images. Of them 63 injurers presented at least one of the features of the chest trauma in imaging with a positive rate of 48.5 %. Of these,37 cases (28.5 %) were multi-system with multiple injuries ,33 cases (25.4 %) were chest trauma with multi-injury types,which included thoracic fractures in 54 cases (85.7 %),pleural injury in 56 cases (88.9 %),lung injury in 54 cases (85.7 %),lungs complications in 37 cases (58.7 %),and extrapulmonary complications of 35 cases (55.6 %). The radiological data were analyzed retrospectively. The features of chest trauma in Yushu Earthquake,the complications of chest injuries,and the relation between imaging findings and clinical manifestations,as well as the differences of chest trauma between Yushu Earthquake and Wenchuan Earthquake were discussed in detail.展开更多
<strong></strong><strong></strong>In Mali, chest injuries remain a real public health problem and are associated with heavy morbidity and mortality. Faced with a resurgence of urban civil viole...<strong></strong><strong></strong>In Mali, chest injuries remain a real public health problem and are associated with heavy morbidity and mortality. Faced with a resurgence of urban civil violence and the explosion of road accidents, we decided to conduct this study in order to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of thoracic trauma in the emergency department. <strong>Method and Material:</strong> This is a descriptive prospective study over a period of one year in the emergency department of the CHU Gabriel Touré. Including all patients admitted for thoracic trauma. <strong>Analysis and Entry: </strong>Data were entered and analyzed on SPSS software version 20.0. The test was significant for a p value < 0.05. <strong>Results:</strong> We recorded 21,090 appeals in our structure among which 1284 patients were suspected of thoracic trauma. The diagnosis of thoracic trauma was retained in 119 (0.56%) patients. All patients were transported to the emergency room without prehospital medicalization. Clinical presentation was dominated by dyspnea in 54.6% of patients, however pain was the almost constant symptom in conscious victims. Various traumatic mechanisms had caused these lesions of the thorax, of which road traffic accidents represented half of the causes, followed by urban civil violence in 28.6% of patients. Landslides and falls from a great height were responsible for 19.5% of chest injuries. Open chest trauma was the type of lesion found in a third of the cases. This type of injury was exclusively due to blows and injuries during the brawls. Standard chest radiography was performed as the first intention in 60% of patients compared to 10.9% for the pleuropulmonary ultrasound. Thirteen patients required ventilatory assistance after orotracheal intubation. The average length of stay was 65.23 hours. During the period of our study, the overall mortality was 1.85% in the emergency departments with a lethality specific to chest trauma of 15%. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Urban violence with its share of ballistic wounds determined the severity of this condition.展开更多
Central airway injury is a very rare entity during blunt chest trauma. It is serious and may be fatal. Usually, it has fundamental manifestations but in some cases, it is insidious and has been discovered lately. It’...Central airway injury is a very rare entity during blunt chest trauma. It is serious and may be fatal. Usually, it has fundamental manifestations but in some cases, it is insidious and has been discovered lately. It’s suspected when major air leaks from the chest tube and the lung fail to expand despite adequate chest drainage. Right main bronchus injuries are the most frequent. Diagnosis can be suspected clinically and confirmed by Ct scan and bronchoscopy. Conservative management can be applied in special cases but the majority of cases need surgical intervention which depends on primary reconstruction. An early diagnosis and treatment can avoid dramatic complications and provide complete recovery. Associated other organ injury is common and is an important mortality factor. Close cooperation with the emergency team and anesthesiologists is necessary. Here I presented a case of right main bronchus disruption discovered after one year of blunt chest trauma with complete lung atelectasis, managed successfully by resection of the fibrotic injured bronchus and primary reconstruction saving the lung.展开更多
AIM To investigate the hemothorax size for which tube thoracostomy is necessary.METHODS Over a 5-year period, we included all patients who were admitted with blunt chest trauma to our level 1 trauma center. Focus was ...AIM To investigate the hemothorax size for which tube thoracostomy is necessary.METHODS Over a 5-year period, we included all patients who were admitted with blunt chest trauma to our level 1 trauma center. Focus was placed on identifying the hemothorax size requiring tube thoracostomy.RESULTS A total number of 274 hemothoraces were studied. All patients with hemothoraces measuring above 3 cm received a chest tube. The 50% predicted probability of tube thoracostomy was 2 cm. Pneumothorax was associated with odds of receiving tube thoracostomy for hemothoraces below 2 cm(Odds Ratio:4.967, 95%CI: 2.225-11.097, P < 0.0001).CONCLUSION All patients with a hemothorax size greater than 3% underwent tube thoracostomy. Prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the clinical outcome of patients with smaller hemothoraces.展开更多
Objective: Pneumomediastinum (PM) can be observed after blunt and penetrating chest trauma. Most of the patients with PM due to trauma can be managed conservatively. This study aimed to evaluate the cases with PM on t...Objective: Pneumomediastinum (PM) can be observed after blunt and penetrating chest trauma. Most of the patients with PM due to trauma can be managed conservatively. This study aimed to evaluate the cases with PM on thorax computed tomography (CT) after blunt chest trauma (BCT). Methods: Medical records of patients with PM due to BCT between January 2000 and December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Thorax CT was used to verify pneumomediastinum in all patients. Twenty-four patients which had different causes of PM (penetrating trauma, iatrogenic, spontaneous) were excluded from the study. Data of sixty-nine patients with the diagnosis of PM secondary to BCT and who were observed without any further procedure for the cause of PM, were evaluated retrospectively. Results: There were 59 male and 10 female patients with the mean age of 47.60 ± 17.47 years (range, 16 to 80 years). The most common cause of PM etiology was traffic accident with a rate of 38 (55.06%) patients, followed by fall from height in 25 (36.24%), compression in 3 (4.35%) and drubbing in 3 (4.35%) patients. There was a 12.46 ± 6.42 days (range, 6 to 28 days) mean duration of chest tube drainage which was performed for accompanying pathologies like pneumothorax and hemothorax. No complication was determined for short and long term follow-up of patients when all hospital records were analyzed in terms of complication. Conclusions: PM after BCT may be a marker of esophageal and tracheobronchial injury and invasive procedures like bronchoscopy and endoscopy can be needed for differential diagnosis. We evaluated 69 patients in good general status and no need for intensive care management with PM in this study and observed them without any further procedure. As a result of these findings we concluded that for the PM patients after BCT with uneventful clinical course, conservative treatment without any further procedure is a safe and sufficient method.展开更多
Blunt thoracic injuries are common among elderly patients and may be a common cause of morbidity and death from blunt trauma injuries.We aimed to examine the impact of chest CT on the diagnosis and change of managemen...Blunt thoracic injuries are common among elderly patients and may be a common cause of morbidity and death from blunt trauma injuries.We aimed to examine the impact of chest CT on the diagnosis and change of management plan in elderly patients with stable blunt chest trauma.We hypothesized that chest CT may play an important role in providing optimal management to this subgroup of trauma patients.;A retrospective analysis was performed on all the admitted adult blunt trauma patients between January 2014 and December 2018.Stable blunt chest trauma patients with abbreviated injury severity(AIS)<3 for extra-thoracic injuries confirmed with chest X-ray(CXR)and chest CT on admission or during hospitalization were included in the study.The AIS is an international scale for grading the severity of anatomic injury following blunt trauma.Primary outcome variables were occult injuries,change in management,need for surgical procedures,missed injuries,readmission rate,intensive care unit(ICU)and length of hospital stay.;There are 473 patients with blunt chest trauma included in the study.The study patients were divided into two groups according to the age range:group 1:289 patients were included and aged 18-64 years;group 2:184 patients were included and aged 65-99 years.Elderly patients in group 2 more often required ICU admission(11.4%vs.5.2%),had a longer length of ICU stay(days)(median 11 vs.6,p=0.01),and the length of hospital stay(days)(median 14 vs.6,p=0.04).Injuries identified on chest CT has led to a change of management in 4.4%of young patients in group 1 and in 10.9%of elderly patients in group 2 with initially normal CXR.Chest CT resulted in a change of management in 12.8%of young patients in group 1 and in 25.7%of elderly patients in group 2 with initially abnormal CXR.;Chest CT led to a change of management in a substantial proportion of elderly patients.Therefore,we recommend chest CT as a first-line imaging modality in patients aged over 65 years with isolated blunt chest trauma.展开更多
Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a rare complication of blunt chest trauma.Approximately 150 cases have been reported since first being described by Todd et al in 1848.1 During the past few decades traumatic tricuspid...Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a rare complication of blunt chest trauma.Approximately 150 cases have been reported since first being described by Todd et al in 1848.1 During the past few decades traumatic tricuspid regurgitation has been reported with increasing frequency,which may in part be attributed to more patients surviving blunt chest trauma as well as improved diagnostic imaging studies,such as echocardiography.The incidence of traumatic tricuspid regurgitation is likely underestimated since chronic,isolated tricuspid insufficiency may be well tolerated in some patients who experience few or no symptoms after the traumatic event.2 Furthermore,some patients may not recall antecedent chest trauma unless specifically questioned.Most cases of traumatic tricuspid regurgitation are secondary to blunt chest trauma.1展开更多
The occurrence, bleeding, and treatment of internal mammary artery（IMA） injury after blunt chest trauma have not been well described in the literature. We reviewed articles published from July 1977 to February 2014 ...The occurrence, bleeding, and treatment of internal mammary artery（IMA） injury after blunt chest trauma have not been well described in the literature. We reviewed articles published from July 1977 to February 2014 describing IMA injury after blunt chest trauma in 49 patients. There was a predominant incidence in males and on the left side. Blunt trauma to the IMA can cause anterior mediastinal hematoma, hemothorax, pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, and extra-pleural hematoma. Of the 49 patients studied, 20 underwent embolization, 22 underwent surgical operation, 4 were managed by clinical observation, and 3 had undescribed treatment. Different parts and extents of IMA injury, adjacent vein injury, as well as the integrity of the pleura determined differences in bleeding modality. Prompt diagnosis, complete hemostasis, aggressive resuscitation, and multidisciplinary teams are recommended for patients with IMA injury.展开更多
Coronary artery dissection and acute myocar-dial infarction（AMI） after blunt chest trauma （BCT） has rarely been reported1＇2. This report describes two cases of the left anterior de-scending（LAD） artery dissecti...Coronary artery dissection and acute myocar-dial infarction（AMI） after blunt chest trauma （BCT） has rarely been reported1＇2. This report describes two cases of the left anterior de-scending（LAD） artery dissection and AMI after BCT, successfully treated with percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） and they dis-charged without complications.展开更多
Background: Chest trauma is a catastrophic event that affects large number of population and leads to morbidity, disability and mortality. The definition of an occult pneumothorax is uncontested. It is a pneumothorax ...Background: Chest trauma is a catastrophic event that affects large number of population and leads to morbidity, disability and mortality. The definition of an occult pneumothorax is uncontested. It is a pneumothorax that was not suspected on the basis of clinical examination or plain radiography, but was ultimately detected with CT and usually treated conservatively. We evaluated the success of selective conservative management of small pneumothorax following stab chest injuries, in Emergency Department patients. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 30 adult patients admitted to the emergency department with small traumatic pneumothorax following stab injury. All enrolled patients (n = 30) were assessed for the following, demographic data, laboratory investigations, chest x-ray and CT scan. The outcomes measured were discharge safely after successful conservative management, Initial conservative then invasive measurement. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between conservative and non-conservative types of management in the incidence of complications after 1 week follow up (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The majority of asymptomatic small pneumothorax patients following a stab injury can be managed conservatively. Haphazard chest tube insertion and aging may lead to complications in such patients.展开更多
BACKGROUND:The appropriate sequence of different imagings and indications of thoracic computed tomography(TCT)in evaluating chest trauma have not yet been clarified at present.The current study was undertaken to deter...BACKGROUND:The appropriate sequence of different imagings and indications of thoracic computed tomography(TCT)in evaluating chest trauma have not yet been clarified at present.The current study was undertaken to determine the value of chest X-ray(CXR)in detecting chest injuries in patients with blunt trauma.METHODS:A total of 447 patients with blunt thoracic trauma who had been admitted to the emergency department(ED)in the period of 2009–2013 were retrospectively reviewed.The patients met inclusion criteria(age>8 years,blunt injury to the chest,hemodynamically stable,and neurologically intact)and underwent both TCT and upright CXR in the ED.Radiological imagings were re-interpreted after they were collected from the hospital database by two skilled radiologists.RESULTS:Of the 447 patients,309(69.1%)were male.The mean age of the 447 patients was 39.5±19.2(range 9 and 87 years).158(35.3%)patients were injured in motor vehicle accidents(MVA).CXR showed the highest sensitivity in detecting clavicle fractures[95%CI 78.3(63.6–89)]but the lowest in pneuomediastinum[95%CI 11.8(1.5–36.4)].The specificity of CXR was close to 100%in detecting a wide array of entities.CONCLUSION:CXR remains to be the first choice in hemodynamically unstable patients with blunt chest trauma.Moreover,stable patients with normal CXR are candidates who should undergo TCT if significant injury has not been ruled out.展开更多
基金Project of Qinghai Development of Science and Technology (No.2011-N-150)
文摘The purpose of this study was focused on the imaging features of the chest trauma and its relation to clinical characteristics. All the injured patients were from the Yushu Earthquake areas on days April 14 - 23,2010. After an initial treatment,the injurers were rapidly transported from Yushu at an altitude of 4 000 m via air to Xining at 2 260 m within 6~8 h,and promptly admitted to Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital. A total of 130 wounded injurers who had high suspicion of chest injuries all had examinations of Chest X-ray and computed tomography(CT)images. Of them 63 injurers presented at least one of the features of the chest trauma in imaging with a positive rate of 48.5 %. Of these,37 cases (28.5 %) were multi-system with multiple injuries ,33 cases (25.4 %) were chest trauma with multi-injury types,which included thoracic fractures in 54 cases (85.7 %),pleural injury in 56 cases (88.9 %),lung injury in 54 cases (85.7 %),lungs complications in 37 cases (58.7 %),and extrapulmonary complications of 35 cases (55.6 %). The radiological data were analyzed retrospectively. The features of chest trauma in Yushu Earthquake,the complications of chest injuries,and the relation between imaging findings and clinical manifestations,as well as the differences of chest trauma between Yushu Earthquake and Wenchuan Earthquake were discussed in detail.
文摘<strong></strong><strong></strong>In Mali, chest injuries remain a real public health problem and are associated with heavy morbidity and mortality. Faced with a resurgence of urban civil violence and the explosion of road accidents, we decided to conduct this study in order to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of thoracic trauma in the emergency department. <strong>Method and Material:</strong> This is a descriptive prospective study over a period of one year in the emergency department of the CHU Gabriel Touré. Including all patients admitted for thoracic trauma. <strong>Analysis and Entry: </strong>Data were entered and analyzed on SPSS software version 20.0. The test was significant for a p value < 0.05. <strong>Results:</strong> We recorded 21,090 appeals in our structure among which 1284 patients were suspected of thoracic trauma. The diagnosis of thoracic trauma was retained in 119 (0.56%) patients. All patients were transported to the emergency room without prehospital medicalization. Clinical presentation was dominated by dyspnea in 54.6% of patients, however pain was the almost constant symptom in conscious victims. Various traumatic mechanisms had caused these lesions of the thorax, of which road traffic accidents represented half of the causes, followed by urban civil violence in 28.6% of patients. Landslides and falls from a great height were responsible for 19.5% of chest injuries. Open chest trauma was the type of lesion found in a third of the cases. This type of injury was exclusively due to blows and injuries during the brawls. Standard chest radiography was performed as the first intention in 60% of patients compared to 10.9% for the pleuropulmonary ultrasound. Thirteen patients required ventilatory assistance after orotracheal intubation. The average length of stay was 65.23 hours. During the period of our study, the overall mortality was 1.85% in the emergency departments with a lethality specific to chest trauma of 15%. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Urban violence with its share of ballistic wounds determined the severity of this condition.
文摘Central airway injury is a very rare entity during blunt chest trauma. It is serious and may be fatal. Usually, it has fundamental manifestations but in some cases, it is insidious and has been discovered lately. It’s suspected when major air leaks from the chest tube and the lung fail to expand despite adequate chest drainage. Right main bronchus injuries are the most frequent. Diagnosis can be suspected clinically and confirmed by Ct scan and bronchoscopy. Conservative management can be applied in special cases but the majority of cases need surgical intervention which depends on primary reconstruction. An early diagnosis and treatment can avoid dramatic complications and provide complete recovery. Associated other organ injury is common and is an important mortality factor. Close cooperation with the emergency team and anesthesiologists is necessary. Here I presented a case of right main bronchus disruption discovered after one year of blunt chest trauma with complete lung atelectasis, managed successfully by resection of the fibrotic injured bronchus and primary reconstruction saving the lung.
文摘AIM To investigate the hemothorax size for which tube thoracostomy is necessary.METHODS Over a 5-year period, we included all patients who were admitted with blunt chest trauma to our level 1 trauma center. Focus was placed on identifying the hemothorax size requiring tube thoracostomy.RESULTS A total number of 274 hemothoraces were studied. All patients with hemothoraces measuring above 3 cm received a chest tube. The 50% predicted probability of tube thoracostomy was 2 cm. Pneumothorax was associated with odds of receiving tube thoracostomy for hemothoraces below 2 cm(Odds Ratio:4.967, 95%CI: 2.225-11.097, P < 0.0001).CONCLUSION All patients with a hemothorax size greater than 3% underwent tube thoracostomy. Prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the clinical outcome of patients with smaller hemothoraces.
文摘Objective: Pneumomediastinum (PM) can be observed after blunt and penetrating chest trauma. Most of the patients with PM due to trauma can be managed conservatively. This study aimed to evaluate the cases with PM on thorax computed tomography (CT) after blunt chest trauma (BCT). Methods: Medical records of patients with PM due to BCT between January 2000 and December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Thorax CT was used to verify pneumomediastinum in all patients. Twenty-four patients which had different causes of PM (penetrating trauma, iatrogenic, spontaneous) were excluded from the study. Data of sixty-nine patients with the diagnosis of PM secondary to BCT and who were observed without any further procedure for the cause of PM, were evaluated retrospectively. Results: There were 59 male and 10 female patients with the mean age of 47.60 ± 17.47 years (range, 16 to 80 years). The most common cause of PM etiology was traffic accident with a rate of 38 (55.06%) patients, followed by fall from height in 25 (36.24%), compression in 3 (4.35%) and drubbing in 3 (4.35%) patients. There was a 12.46 ± 6.42 days (range, 6 to 28 days) mean duration of chest tube drainage which was performed for accompanying pathologies like pneumothorax and hemothorax. No complication was determined for short and long term follow-up of patients when all hospital records were analyzed in terms of complication. Conclusions: PM after BCT may be a marker of esophageal and tracheobronchial injury and invasive procedures like bronchoscopy and endoscopy can be needed for differential diagnosis. We evaluated 69 patients in good general status and no need for intensive care management with PM in this study and observed them without any further procedure. As a result of these findings we concluded that for the PM patients after BCT with uneventful clinical course, conservative treatment without any further procedure is a safe and sufficient method.
文摘Blunt thoracic injuries are common among elderly patients and may be a common cause of morbidity and death from blunt trauma injuries.We aimed to examine the impact of chest CT on the diagnosis and change of management plan in elderly patients with stable blunt chest trauma.We hypothesized that chest CT may play an important role in providing optimal management to this subgroup of trauma patients.;A retrospective analysis was performed on all the admitted adult blunt trauma patients between January 2014 and December 2018.Stable blunt chest trauma patients with abbreviated injury severity(AIS)<3 for extra-thoracic injuries confirmed with chest X-ray(CXR)and chest CT on admission or during hospitalization were included in the study.The AIS is an international scale for grading the severity of anatomic injury following blunt trauma.Primary outcome variables were occult injuries,change in management,need for surgical procedures,missed injuries,readmission rate,intensive care unit(ICU)and length of hospital stay.;There are 473 patients with blunt chest trauma included in the study.The study patients were divided into two groups according to the age range:group 1:289 patients were included and aged 18-64 years;group 2:184 patients were included and aged 65-99 years.Elderly patients in group 2 more often required ICU admission(11.4%vs.5.2%),had a longer length of ICU stay(days)(median 11 vs.6,p=0.01),and the length of hospital stay(days)(median 14 vs.6,p=0.04).Injuries identified on chest CT has led to a change of management in 4.4%of young patients in group 1 and in 10.9%of elderly patients in group 2 with initially normal CXR.Chest CT resulted in a change of management in 12.8%of young patients in group 1 and in 25.7%of elderly patients in group 2 with initially abnormal CXR.;Chest CT led to a change of management in a substantial proportion of elderly patients.Therefore,we recommend chest CT as a first-line imaging modality in patients aged over 65 years with isolated blunt chest trauma.
文摘Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a rare complication of blunt chest trauma.Approximately 150 cases have been reported since first being described by Todd et al in 1848.1 During the past few decades traumatic tricuspid regurgitation has been reported with increasing frequency,which may in part be attributed to more patients surviving blunt chest trauma as well as improved diagnostic imaging studies,such as echocardiography.The incidence of traumatic tricuspid regurgitation is likely underestimated since chronic,isolated tricuspid insufficiency may be well tolerated in some patients who experience few or no symptoms after the traumatic event.2 Furthermore,some patients may not recall antecedent chest trauma unless specifically questioned.Most cases of traumatic tricuspid regurgitation are secondary to blunt chest trauma.1
文摘The occurrence, bleeding, and treatment of internal mammary artery（IMA） injury after blunt chest trauma have not been well described in the literature. We reviewed articles published from July 1977 to February 2014 describing IMA injury after blunt chest trauma in 49 patients. There was a predominant incidence in males and on the left side. Blunt trauma to the IMA can cause anterior mediastinal hematoma, hemothorax, pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula, and extra-pleural hematoma. Of the 49 patients studied, 20 underwent embolization, 22 underwent surgical operation, 4 were managed by clinical observation, and 3 had undescribed treatment. Different parts and extents of IMA injury, adjacent vein injury, as well as the integrity of the pleura determined differences in bleeding modality. Prompt diagnosis, complete hemostasis, aggressive resuscitation, and multidisciplinary teams are recommended for patients with IMA injury.
文摘Coronary artery dissection and acute myocar-dial infarction（AMI） after blunt chest trauma （BCT） has rarely been reported1＇2. This report describes two cases of the left anterior de-scending（LAD） artery dissection and AMI after BCT, successfully treated with percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） and they dis-charged without complications.
文摘Background: Chest trauma is a catastrophic event that affects large number of population and leads to morbidity, disability and mortality. The definition of an occult pneumothorax is uncontested. It is a pneumothorax that was not suspected on the basis of clinical examination or plain radiography, but was ultimately detected with CT and usually treated conservatively. We evaluated the success of selective conservative management of small pneumothorax following stab chest injuries, in Emergency Department patients. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 30 adult patients admitted to the emergency department with small traumatic pneumothorax following stab injury. All enrolled patients (n = 30) were assessed for the following, demographic data, laboratory investigations, chest x-ray and CT scan. The outcomes measured were discharge safely after successful conservative management, Initial conservative then invasive measurement. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between conservative and non-conservative types of management in the incidence of complications after 1 week follow up (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The majority of asymptomatic small pneumothorax patients following a stab injury can be managed conservatively. Haphazard chest tube insertion and aging may lead to complications in such patients.
文摘BACKGROUND:The appropriate sequence of different imagings and indications of thoracic computed tomography(TCT)in evaluating chest trauma have not yet been clarified at present.The current study was undertaken to determine the value of chest X-ray(CXR)in detecting chest injuries in patients with blunt trauma.METHODS:A total of 447 patients with blunt thoracic trauma who had been admitted to the emergency department(ED)in the period of 2009–2013 were retrospectively reviewed.The patients met inclusion criteria(age>8 years,blunt injury to the chest,hemodynamically stable,and neurologically intact)and underwent both TCT and upright CXR in the ED.Radiological imagings were re-interpreted after they were collected from the hospital database by two skilled radiologists.RESULTS:Of the 447 patients,309(69.1%)were male.The mean age of the 447 patients was 39.5±19.2(range 9 and 87 years).158(35.3%)patients were injured in motor vehicle accidents(MVA).CXR showed the highest sensitivity in detecting clavicle fractures[95%CI 78.3(63.6–89)]but the lowest in pneuomediastinum[95%CI 11.8(1.5–36.4)].The specificity of CXR was close to 100%in detecting a wide array of entities.CONCLUSION:CXR remains to be the first choice in hemodynamically unstable patients with blunt chest trauma.Moreover,stable patients with normal CXR are candidates who should undergo TCT if significant injury has not been ruled out.
