A Comparative Study of Chest X-ray and Chest High-resolution Computed Tomography in Blunt Trauma Chest Patients

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) scan is an accurate tool for the detection of injuries in a trauma setting and is able to find the injuries that were occult in chest X-ray (CXR). In past years, the utility of CT scan was limited to severe trauma injuries but now is used in less severely injured trauma patients. The study aimed to compare the efficacy of CXR and chest CT scans in patients with chest trauma. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Surgery of Medical Institute. For the study, we prospectively view the previous medical records of the patients who were admitted in our surgical ward for blunt chest trauma and received both CXR and high resolution CT chest scans. A total of 95 patients were included in the study. Data regarding the study were collected. Results: Out of 95 patients, 79 were males and 16 females. The mean age of the patients was 32.42 years ranging from 2 to 90 years. The most common cause for blunt trauma to the chest according to our results was a road traffic accident. We observed that CT scan is more accurate as compared to CXR in the detection of certain cases such as sternum fracture, rib fracture, scapula fracture, lung contusion, hemothorax, and pneumothorax. Conclusion: Chest CT scan is highly sensitive in the detection of thoracic injuries following blunt chest trauma. In day-to-day practice, CT scan is better in visualizing as sternum fracture, rib fracture, scapula fracture, lung contusion, hemothorax, and pneumothorax