Written by Megan Hilbert
Spoon Feed
The Western Trauma Association has reviewed and compiled the available current literature to create this algorithm for the evaluation and management of traumatic lung injury.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let the figure do the talking
- Thoracic trauma occurs in 1/3 of trauma patients.
- In those with thoracic trauma, 16% have pulmonary contusion and ~11% have traumatic pneumothorax.
There is nuance depending upon the injury pattern, but thankfully, the paper breaks it down in granular detail. I highly recommend you review the algorithm (inserted below) and reference the paper concurrently to make sure you are up on the most recent recommendations.
How will this change my practice?
I will keep this algorithm handy for teaching my residents and as a reference in the management of my trauma patients going forward.
Source
Western Trauma Association critical decisions in trauma: Lung injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026 Jul 13. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000005127. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42441866.
