【Abstract】Objective: Tracheobronchial injuries
are defined as injuries involving the trachea and/or bronchi
from the level of the cricoid cartilage extending up to the
division of the bronchi. We present a case series with most
of the tracheobronchial injuries found to be sustained after
penetrating trauma.
Methods: A retrospective review was performed at the
Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. From January 2004
to December 2009, 168 patients with thoracic trauma were
treated, of whom 15 were recognized to have major tracheo-
bronchial and pulmonary injuries.
Results: The average age was 31 years with most of
the patients being male (14:1). Among them,11 patients had
penetrating trauma as the main cause of injury, 3 patients
had blunt trauma from road traffic accidents, only 1 patient
had combined trauma (blunt and penetrating trauma). Eight
patients were diagnosed based on radiological findings. All
the patients were treated surgically. Lobectomy was the
most common intervention performed in 7 patients. The mor-
tality rate was 7% (1 patient). Most patients survived with no
sequelae (10 patients) while 5 survived with disability. We
found that penetrating trauma was the leading cause of in-
jury in our series. The severity of injury depends upon the
weapon causing the trauma. Patients in our series had mul-
tiple injuries and required surgical management.
Conclusions: Tracheobronchial injuries are rare but
potentially life threatening. They require quick diagnosis
and management. Diagnosis tends to be difficult since there
are no specialised diagnostic modalities available at present.
Key words: Bronchi; Trachea; Thoracic injuries