Effectivity of the Radiological Imaging Methods in the Prediction of the Neurological Loss Risk in Patients with Blunt Chest Trauma

Abstract

Objective: The study was aimed to investigate the diagnostic differences between X-ray and thorax computed tomography (CT) scan in patients with blunt chest trauma and to de- termine which radiological method and/or radiological diagnostic criteria are more effective and predictive to diagnose the hemothorax, pneumothorax, and neurological deficit. Methods: The demographic and radiological imaging results of patients who had blunt chest trauma between April 2011 and December 2018 were analyzed. A total of 869 patients (male=548, female=321) were included in the study. Of the patients, 756 (87%) were as- sessed by a traffic accident and 113 (13%) by falling from a height. The findings of rib, ster- num, and spine fractures, hemothorax, and pneumothorax detected on X-ray and/or thorax CT were evaluated. Results: Rib fractures (p