Citation

Lin MY, Wu MH, Chan CS, Lai WW, Chou NS, Tseng YL. Ann. Emerg. Med. 1995; 25(3): 412-415.

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, American College of Emergency Physicians, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7864485

Abstract

We have surgically treated six patients with bronchial rupture caused by blunt chest injury in the past 5 years. All injuries resulted from traffic accidents, except in one patient who was hit by a crane. Clinical manifestations included chest pain (n = 6), subcutaneous emphysema (n = 4), and dyspnea (n = 6). Roentgenographic findings were tension (n = 3) or nontension (n = 3) pneumothorax, subcutaneous emphysema (n = 4), pneumomediastinum (n = 3), deep cervical emphysema (n = 5), and delayed collapse of the affected lung (n = 3). Three patients had associated injuries: right clavicle and rib fractures in the first; right humeral, scapular, and multiple rib fractures and left sternoclavicular joint dislocation in the second; and left clavicle fracture in the third. These six patients all underwent immediate tube thoracostomy and then bronchoplasty. Bronchoplasty was performed within 3 days in four patients and on days 16 and 30, respectively, in the other two patients. The affected lung demonstrated full expansion in all patients immediately after bronchoplasty. Follow-up bronchoscopy showed good patency of all bronchi.

Language: en