Thorax computed tomography findings in patients victims of chest trauma

Abstract

Objective: To describe thorax computed tomography findings in patients assisted in the emergency unit of Institute Dr Jose Frota (IJF). Materials and Methods: Descriptive study analyzing 160 consecutive contrast-enhanced thorax computed tomography of patients victims of thoracic trauma admitted to the emergency unit of IJF, between November 1st, 2014 and January 31st, 2015. Results: Abnormal findings were observed in 91,2 % of the patients. Among them, the following findings were most frequently observed: fractures (48%), hemothorax (43%), atelectasis (37%), pneumothorax (26%) and lung contusions (17%) Rupture of the esophagus was seen in three patients. Conclusion: We recognize that the findings encountered in our study are of similar prevalence to the ones reported in the literature and that CT scan is essencial to quickly diagnose these findings.

Keywords

• Multidetector computed tomography
• Thoracic injuries
• Diagnostic imaging.