[Blunt injuries of the lungs, pleura and chest bone structures: computed tomography contribution]

The most frequent incidences of blunt chest injuries occur due to motorvehicle accidents, falls and work-related traumas. Chest computed tomography is usually associated with examination of the subsequent regions with the aim to enable a more efficient diagnostic procedure. The purpose of this research study is to define the contribution of the chest CT in blunt injury patients.

This retrospective study encompasses the results of CT examination of 36 patients with one or more injuries of the thoracic wall, pleura, lungs and spinal column suspected to suffer chest organs traumas. Chest CT survey was performed in 30 patients, while thoracic spine CT survey was performed in 11 patients.

The most frequent incidences of injuries were due to motor vehicle accidents (22 patients--61.11%). Falls were the reason of injuries in 11 patients--17.46%. Chest injuries are usually associated with injuries of the surrounding regions, but occurred in isolated form, too (27.78%). Rib fractures and lungs parenchyma traumas were evidenced by CT examination in more than 60% of the patients. Thoracic spine fractures were most frequently reported at the 10-th, 11-th and 12-th vertebra and made more than 70% of the thoracic spine fractures.

The findings of this study coincide to a great extent with the findings presented in world literature.