부산대학교 도서관

Blunt neck trauma is not an uncommonly seen injury in an emergency department and may carry a mortality risk as caused by potential airway obstruction. We report on the case of a 76-year-old male victim of blunt neck trauma complicated with acute respiratory distress and who required emergent orotracheal intubation following 90 minutes of observation in emergency department. Computed tomography revealed a huge hematoma that had accumulated in the anterior cervical region and which featured partial upper-airway obstruction. The patient recovered following surgical debridement and intensive care. This case stresses that a patient suffering blunt neck trauma may initially appear stable, but can rapidly evolve to a situation of a critically compromised airway that requires emergency intubation and surgical intervention.