Traumatic intrathoracic tracheobronchial injuries: a study of 78 cases.

Background: Tracheobronchial injuries are encountered with increasing frequency because of improvements in pre-hospital care. We reviewed our experience of these injuries to determine how to better recognize them and facilitate their correct management.

Methods: Patients with traumatic non-iatrogenic intrathoracic tracheobronchial injuries managed in 2 tertiary centers in Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2012, were studied. Clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, management, and outcome were reviewed.

Results: 78 patients with tracheobronchial injuries were included in this study. They were divided into 2 groups according to the management strategy. Forty-seven patients who were managed conservatively, and 31 underwent surgery. Surgery allowed shorter intensive care unit and hospital stays; otherwise, the results were comparable between the two groups.

Conclusions: Early recognition and expedient appropriate management are essential in these potentially lethal injuries. Operative management can be achieved with acceptable mortality, and conservative treatment should be considered as a valuable alternative to the well-established surgical treatment.