Laterality of air volume in the lungs long after blunt chest trauma.
To clarify a cause of the persistent decrease in lung capacity seen several years after blunt chest trauma, 17 patients with blunt chest trauma (10 with unilateral lung contusion, 7 with bilateral lung contusions; 11 of these with unilateral flail chest) inflicted 1 to 6 years previously and 10 normal volunteers (control) were studied. Lung air volumes (AV) were measured by spirometry (AVsp) and by computed tomographic (CT) scan (AVCT = AVCT.Rt+AVCT.Lt) under the same conditions. Hemithoracic spaces were also calculated by CT scan. The average AVsp in patients (76% +/- 8%) was lower than in the controls (98% +/- 5%). AVCT was consistent with AVsp in all the measurements. %AVCT.Rt and %AVCT.Lt, which were adjusted by the ratio of AVCT.Rt to AVCT.Lt in the controls, decreased significantly in unilateral contused lungs (71% +/- 8%). Fifty-eight percent of contused lungs showed small fibrous changes on the CT scans. The ratio of the hemithoracic space on the flail chest side to the opposite side was 0.95 +/- 0.05. These results suggest that the persistent decrease in AV long after blunt chest trauma might be caused by a constriction of contused lung resulting from fibrous changes.
Kishikawa
M
M
Department of Emergency Medicine, Osaka Prefectural Hospital, Japan.
Minami
T
T
Shimazu
T
T
Sugimoyo
H
H
Yoshioka
T
T
Katsurada
K
K
Sugimoto
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003288:Contusions / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013147:Spirometry; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*