[Diagnoses of bronchus and lung trauma by computed tomography and X-ray examination in 37 cases: a comparative study].

Objective: To study the value of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of traumatic injuries in the bronchus and lung.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted of the CT and X-ray radiographic images of the bronchus and lung in 36 cases of traumatic injuries in the chest.

Results: Based on CT manifestations, the lung injuries of the 37 cases fell into 3 categories, namely mild, moderate and severe injuries. Of the 9 cases of mild lung injuries identified by CT, 5 failed to be detected by X-ray examination; in the 15 cases of moderate injuries, X-ray examination showed more confined areas of the injuries with lesser severity than CT did. In the rest 13 cases of severe injuries, only 9 were identified by X-ray. Bronchial injuries occurred in 3 case that were totally unidentifiable by X-ray and even routine CT scanning did not result in exact diagnoses. The injuries, however, were clearly demonstrated by thin-slice CT scan of the hila area after reconstruction of the images.

Conclusion: Chest X-ray is not sufficient for traumatic chest injury examination in the emergency room that necessitates CT scanning of the chest.