title: Diaphragmatic injuries: why do we struggle to detect them?
abstract: Diaphragmatic injury is an uncommon traumatic condition. It can be easily missed due to a lack of awareness by both clinicians and radiologists. A high index of suspicion is required for the establishment of an early diagnosis and prevention of life-threatening complications. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is the modality of choice for the detection of diaphragmatic injury. In this review article, we illustrate the MDCT appearance of blunt and penetrating diaphragmatic injuries and emphasize the role of the emergency radiologist in detecting these entities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency/Trauma Radiology, Department of Radiology, Hamilton General Hospital, McMaster University, 237 Barton Str. E, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada, patlas@hhsc.ca.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Patlas
authors.forename: Vincent A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Luigia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gagliardi
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ponticiello
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scaglione
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media