Tracheal rupture after blunt chest trauma in a child

Blunt thoracic trauma in children: review of 137 cases

“…Justifications for operative stabilization were pain and respiratuar difficulty. Imaging findings associated with such injury in addition to the air leak include subcutaneous air in the neck, discontinuity of the tracheal wall, abnormal endotracheal tube position, or the fallen lung sign, which is defined as collapse of the involved lung away from the hilum [14,15]. Flexible endoscopy nearly always provides a definitive diagnosis [16].…”

Bronchial Tear in a Child After a Liquid Petroleum Gas Tank Explosion

“…1,4 Furthermore in the literature, bronchial injuries in childhood, which occurred after blunt or penetrating thoracic trauma, or barotrauma are reported many times. [5][6][7][8] However, isolated bronchial tear after an explosion was not reported in survivors of blast victims according to our knowledge.…”

“…In young patients, the pliability of the chest wall allows the transmission of massive blast waves directly into the mediastinum without disrupting the integrity of the chest wall. 2,6,8 The absence of rib fractures does not rule out the possibility of major intrathoracic injuries in children. 8 Our case has serious tachypnea, hemoptysis, and cough, but she had minimal evidence of external injury.…”

Paediatric chest trauma (part 2) — Hidden Injuries

“…Complications are hoarseness secondary to vocal cord palsy from damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (Mordehai et al, 1997;Ait Ali Slimane et al, 1999), granulomas (Ait Ali Slimane et al, 1999), bronchial stenosis (Hancock and Wiseman, 1991;Ait Ali Slimane et al, 1999;Ozdulger et al, 2003;Heldenberg et al, 2005) and infection (Gaebler et al, 1996;Ozdulger et al, 2003;Heldenberg et al, 2005). However, many of the retrospective series and case reviews do not report any complications (Grant et al, 1998;Becmeur et al, 2000;Fette and Hollwarth, 2001).…”