2021•PneumonOpen access
Pulmonary laceration and contusion in a young male patient due to a motorcycle accident
Vasiliki Apollonatou, Galateia Verykokou, Aggeliki Lazaratou, Andriana Papaioannou, Mirto Kardara, Ioannis Papadiochos, Veroniki Papakosta, Stavros Vassiliou, E. Koursoumi, Panteleimon Messaropoulos, Christina Kontopoulou, Stelios Loukides, Effrosyni Manali, Spyros Papiris
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Abstract
Chest trauma injuries are one of the main causes of death in young people and include lung contusions, lacerations, pneumothorax, hemothorax, rib fractures and tracheobronchial injuries.Pulmonary contusions are the most common identified entities after trauma, and they result in alveolar hemorrhage without loss of the physiological structure of lung parenchyma.On the other hand, pulmonary lacerations, which are often associated with contusions, result in rupture of the alveoli causing formation of cavities.Patients present symptoms ranging from minimal to severe, including cough, chest pain, hemoptysis, dyspnea, tachypnea, and hypoxemia.Findings may not be apparent immediately after injury and chest CT is the most sensitive imaging technique for diagnosis.Contusions usually resolve with supportive care in 5-7 days.In this report, we present a case of lung contusion and laceration in a 19-year-old patient after a motorcycle accident.
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