Injuries of the Trachea and Bronchi

Guidelines for Emergency Tracheal Intubation Immediately after Traumatic Injury

“…27,30,44,69 There is also substantial documentation that blunt or penetrating thoracic injury can cause respiratory distress and hypoxemia. [171][172][173][174][175][176][177] Multiple studies document that emergency tracheal intubation is required for 40% to 60% of patients sustaining pulmonary contusion, 65,178 -182 chest wall fractures, 54,183,184 or flail chest. 53,56,[185][186][187][188][189] …”

Nonoperative Management of Bronchial Injury in a 21-Month-Old Child

“…Since 1970, hospital morality has been under 9%. [1][2][3][4] Kiser et al 1 comprehensively reviewed adult and pediatric tracheobronchial injury from 1873 to 1996 and found that 76% of injuries occur 2 cm from the carina and 43% occur in the first 2 cm of the right mainstem bronchus. The location of tracheobronchial injury does not correlate with mortality.…”

Disruption in the intrathoracic trachea due to blunt trauma

“…Fortysix percent of tracheobronchial ruptures by blunt chest trauma were tracheal injuries, and intrathoracic tracheal disruption comprised 23% of the tracheal injuries.2 Forty-nine percent of patients with cervical tracheal rupture were alive on arrival at hospital, whereas only 14% of patients with intrathoracic tracheal rupture were alive on arrival at hospital. 3 Most patients with a tracheobronchial rupture were seen in the emergency departments of general hospitals and managed initially by general or orthopaedic surgeons or by neurosurgeons, depending on the extent of their associated injuries. Early diagnosis of tracheal injury is important for successful management but is not easy.…”