Blunt carotid artery dissection: incidence, associated injuries, screening, and treatment

Blunt carotid dissection (BCD) is a rare injury occurring in less than one in 1,000 victims of blunt injuries. Using a 4-year experience in a trauma system with 14 cases of BCD, we performed a matched blunt trauma patient case-control analysis to determine if there were patterns of injuries that were associated with increased risk of BCD. Patients with combinations of head, facial, and cervical spine injuries with or without extremity fractures proved to be at significantly increased risk for BCD. Duplex scanning appears to be a useful screening tool for these patients. Anticoagulation was the preferred treatment once neurologic deficits were present.