Neck injuries.
OBJECTIVE
Neck injuries are of great clinical interest because they can induce very significant consequences if not handled properly and can even lead to death. The aim of our study was to analyse external deep cervical trauma in our hospital.


METHODS
A retrospective study of all external deep neck injuries seen in a tertiary hospital over the course of 24 years that involved changes in structures related to otolaryngology.


RESULTS
Twenty patients were included in our study. From all the injuries, 45% were secondary to traffic accidents, 27% from assault with a knife and 23% from attempted suicide. The injuries were open in 15 (68%) cases and closed in 7 (32%). The most common symptom was bleeding (55%), followed by respiratory disorders (23%). On examination, the most frequent sign was the appearance of subcutaneous emphysema (27%). Only 50% of patients underwent imaging before treatment, most often a neck CT (27%). 59% of patients needed surgery, with 6 patients (27%) requiring a tracheotomy. Two of them died (9%) and 6 suffered permanent complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Cervical injuries involving ENT structures are rare in our environment, with the most common cause being traffic accidents. It is important to have standardised guidelines for the management of these patients, because they can often developed severe complications or even die if not treated properly very rapidly.
Servicio de Otorrinolaringología, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Cantabria, España. robertozornoza@hotmail.com
Roberto
R
García-Zornoza
Carmelo
C
Morales-Angulo
Rocío
R
González-Aguado
Leticia
L
Acle Cervera
Eloy
E
Cortizo Vázquez
Sergio
S
Obeso Agüera
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult