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. 2022 Jul;57(7):1818-1819.
doi: 10.1002/ppul.25947. Epub 2022 May 14.

Delayed tension hemothorax after chest trauma in children

Marco Piastra  1   2 , Vittoria Ferrari  2 , Tony C Morena  1 , Enzo Picconi  1 , Giorgio Conti  1   2
Affiliations

Delayed tension hemothorax after chest trauma in children

Marco Piastra et al. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Blunt chest injury is commonly observed in the Pediatric Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit since up to 30% of children with traumatic injury sustain injury to the thorax. Differently from adults, who present with concomitant rib or sternoclavicular fractures in 70% of cases, more than half of childhood chest injuries occur without any bone fracture, mostly causing lung contusions. This lower rate of rib fractures and near absence of flail chest in children may be due to greater elasticity of the pediatric cartilaginous and bony skeleton. Whenever a rib fracture is present, underlying complications should be evaluated carefully (i.e., air leaks or blood effusions). Depending on the trauma mechanism, even minor injuries should raise the suspicion of pathologic bone fractures.

Keywords: chest trauma; hemothorax; pediatric emergency.

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