Non-penetrating traumatic injuries of the aortic arch

BackgroundIn severely injured trauma patients, non-penetrating aortic arch injuries (NAAI) have a remarkable incidence and mortality. Both diagnostics and therapy of NAAI recently underwent significant changes.PurposeTo assess mortality, morbidity, and the risk factors associated with NAAI in severely injured patients (Injury Severity Score [ISS] ≥16) under the light of recent technical and procedural advances in trauma care.Material and MethodsA total of 230 consecutive trauma patients with ISS ≥16 admitted to our level-I trauma center during a 24-month period, were prospectively included and underwent standardized whole-body computed tomography (CT) in a 2 × 128-detector-row scanner. Incidence, mortality, patient and trauma characteristics, and concomitant injuries were recorded for patients with NAAI. Localization of NAAI was described referring to Mitchell and Ishimaru; severity was graded according to the proposal of Heneghan et al.ResultsThirteen of 230 patients had a NAAI, yielding an incidence of ...