Imaging patterns of Thoracic Injuries among Patients aged 14 Years and above at MTRH, Eldoret, Kenya.

Abstract

Background: Thoracic injuries form a major cause of trauma related mortality accounting for up to 25% of all trauma-related deaths world-wide. Imaging techniques constitute the main tools for either screening or definitive diagnosis of chest injuries.Local data related to thoracic injuries and treatment protocols are lacking in our setting. Objective: To determine the imaging patterns of thoracic injuries. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among patients with a clinical diagnosis of chest injuries presenting at MTRH Radiology and Imaging department for Chest radiographs (CXR) and Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. A sample size of 166 participants was determined by the Fisher’s Formula. Systematic random sampling was used to select every second participant. Plain chest radiography and computed tomography (CT,model Phillips MX 4000 dual, Shanghai, China) were used in imaging. The images were then interpreted by two independent consultant Radiologists. The data obtained was recorded manually and later analyzed using STATA version 13 statistical software. Descriptive statistics such as mean and median were used for continuous variables while the association between imaging patterns of thoracic injuries and socio- demographic factors were assessed using Chi square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were 170 participants who were sampled out of which 122(72%) were males. Over 90% of the participants presented with chest pain with the most common imaging pattern being haemothorax (64%),followed by pneumothorax (45%) and rib fractures (42%). The majority of injuries 70(41%) were caused by motor vehicle accidents (MVA). Decelerating mechanism of injury was significantly high among the male participants compared to the female, (39%) vs. 4(16%) (P=0.03).Females tended to have a lower risk of haemothorax compared to males with 56% of the females having haemothorax compared to 67% of males.Conclusions: The most common imaging finding of thoracic injuries was haemothorax followed by pneumothorax and rib fractures. Motor vehicle accidents were found to be the leading cause of thoracic injuries with penetrating and blunt mechanisms of injuries occurring in nearly equal proportions. The median age of the participants was 35 years while the male gender and socioeconomic status were found to be associated with thoracic injuries. This study however, found no statistical significant association between age and the mechanism of injury. Recommendations: There is need for another bigger study in a longer period.