The Role of Computed Tomography in Laryngotracheal Trauma: A Case Series
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Abstract
Laryngotracheal injuries are uncommon but often life threatening.
Forensically, the assessment of survived cases is usually based
on the external findings and several subjective elements such as reports
from the involved persons and witnesses. Therefore, the need
for more objective methods is crucial for forensic experts. Clinical
computed tomography (CT) is sufficiently advanced to provide
detailed descriptions of the internal structures. This study aims to
evaluate the use of CT in survived and non-survived cases of laryngotracheal
trauma.
A total of five patients were included in this study (4 survived
cases and one deceased). Information and data were collected retrospectively
from medical records; radiological images were analyzed.
The study involved three cases with injuries which resulted
from blunt trauma caused by an alleged boating accident and sporting
accidents, as well as two cases with injuries as a result of medical
malpractice.
During history taking, type of injury may help in early diagnosis
and fast provision of treatment to patients. Blunt types of injury
may require the help of CT more than acute injuries for early diagnosis
and treatment.
Keywords
Forensic Sciences, Laryngotracheal, Computed Tomography, Blunt trauma, Anatomy
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