Bronchial Rupture in Blind Thoracic Trauma: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature
Bárbara J Ortiz, Daniel I Gutierrez, Marcelo Parra, Francisco Moraga
Keywords :
Case report, Conservative treatment, Torax trauma, Windpipe
Citation Information :
Ortiz BJ, Gutierrez DI, Parra M, Moraga F. Bronchial Rupture in Blind Thoracic Trauma: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature. Panam J Trauma Crit Care Emerg Surg 2023; 12 (2):86-89.
Aim: To present two cases of bronchial rupture in the context of blunt chest trauma treated in our institution and to conduct a narrative review of the literature.
Background: Bronchial rupture following blunt chest trauma is uncommon (1–3%) but associated with high mortality. About 70–80% do not reach the emergency service; however, most of those diagnosed in the hospital are treated with conservative management.
Case description: Case 1; male 18 years old, traffic accident, and left massive hemothorax in recuperator; thoracotomy and left inferior lobectomy are performed. Case 2; female 20 years old, traffic accident; on admission, an exploratory laparotomy was performed due to hepatic trauma; progresses unstable in the intensive care unit (ICU); computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest shows right source bronchial injury; thoracotomy and bronchial repair are performed.
Conclusion: Bronchial injury is an infrequent pathology, but it could have a lethal evolution. The emergency surgeon must have a high rate of suspicion of high-energy bruises.
Clinical significance: The duration and type of surgical intervention varies according to the patient's conditions and characteristics of the lesions; in both cases, in their study, diagnosis and treatment are in accordance with what has been reviewed in the literature.
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