Objective: We aimed to determine whether thorax tomography, which can be chosen as the first imaging method in blunt thoracic injuries early for and accurate diagnosis, has superiority to chest radiography.

Material and Method: Patients who referred to Emergency Service between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2013 with blunt chest trauma were evaluated. The examination was performed retrospectively.

Results: 131 (75.3%) of blunt chest trauma patients were male. The mean age of the cases was 44.7±19.1. When trauma mechanisms leading to chest trauma were

discussed, the most common cause of trauma in-vehicle was traffic accidents in 63 (36.2%) cases. There were 40 patients (28.5%) with normal radiography and pathologic findings in chest computed tomography. It was seen that costa fractures were the pathologies which escaped the attention most commonly in radiography and detected in computed tomography imaging in 27 (67%) of 40 cases. Pathologies not seen in radiography were pneumothorax in 12 cases (30%), hemothorax in 9 cases (22.5%) and
sternum fracture in 3 cases (7.5%).

Discussion: In conclusion, it would be useful to use thorax tomography as the primary imaging, especially in blunt chest trauma in emergency care, to be able to intervene quickly.

Thoracic injuries wounds Nonpenetrating Tomography X-ray computed Thorax