Traumatic asphyxia: an indicator of significant pulmonary injury

Traumatic asphyxia has often been described as a rare syndrome with little prognostic significance. In the authors' series, however, all cases secondary to deceleration injury or compression of the anterior thorax were associated with pulmonary injury. The signs of venous congestion of the face and anterior thorax are not always recognized in the emergency department where they should be most clinically evident. Increased awareness of this syndrome by emergency physicians will result in better reporting and understanding of its clinical implications.