Traumatic asphyxia
Revision as of 16:29, 7 December 2014 by Drjeffrogers (talk | contribs)
Background
- Normally a result of blunt chest trauma from an MVA [1]
Signs and Symptoms
- Chest wall bruising or significan tmechanism consistent with thoracic trauma (i.e. seatbelt sign, steering wheel deformity, airb deployment)
- Arrhythmia
Prehospital
- Maintain adequate oxygenation > 92%
- Maintain blood pressure with small fluid boluses if necessary (250cc boluses)
- Assess for tension pneumothorax if patient hypoxic or hypotensive
- Perform Needle thoracostomy if indicated
- Prepare for Advanced Airway if patient persistently hypoxic, unable to maintain airway, or has an anticipated poor clinical course
Workup
- Chest Xray
- although often little diagnostic yield<ref>Cook AD, Klein JS, Rogers FB, et al. Chest radiographs of limited utility in the diagnosis of blunt traumatic aortic laceration. J Trauma. May 2001;50(5):843-7</ref
- used to assess for gross Pneumothorax, Rib fracture, or mediastinal widening concerning for Aortic Dissection
- CT with IV contrast for better assessment of lung and vasculature
Differential Diagnosis
Thoracic Trauma
- Airway/Pulmonary
- Cardiac/Vascular
- Musculoskeletal
- Other
See Also
Thoracic Trauma Cardiac Contusion
- ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accidents or unintentional injuries. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/accidental-injury.htm