title: Imaging evaluation of penetrating neck injuries.
abstract: Penetrating neck injuries are a significant source of morbidity and mortality. Diagnostic imaging plays an integral role in the diagnosis and management of these injuries. Although clinical management of penetrating injuries to the neck remains controversial, many institutions have shifted away from mandatory surgical exploration of most penetrating neck injuries toward use of endoscopy, various imaging modalities, and selective surgery to manage specific injuries diagnosed with these techniques. Much of this shift can be attributed to computed tomographic (CT) angiography, a fast, reliable, and noninvasive procedure that provides a global assessment of the neck, thereby reducing the frequency of nontherapeutic surgical neck explorations and limiting the need for diagnostic conventional angiography. Therefore, radiologists interpreting images from CT angiography should be prepared to provide management recommendations on the basis of the CT angiographic findings. An appreciation of the value, roles, and limitations of multidetector CT angiography and other imaging modalities can position the radiologist as a vital participant in the care of patients with penetrating trauma to the neck.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center and R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. ssteenburg@umm.edu
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Steenburg
authors.forename: Clint W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Sliker
authors.forename: Kathirkamanathan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shanmuganathan
authors.forename: Eliot L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Siegel
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*