Trauma and critical care imaging is performed when the patient's condition is critical or life threatening. The selected imaging technique must not just be rapid, but also must accurately visualize the abnormality to prevent any re-examinations. Sometimes, there is a lack of on-site radiologists available at healthcare institutions. Trauma and critical care imaging reading provides the expertise of radiologists remotely. This reduces the turnaround time, which is crucial in trauma and critical situations.
Explained below are the conditions covered under trauma and critical care imaging reads:
Central Nervous System (CNS) Emergencies:
The CNS emergencies affect the brain function, oxygenation, and neuronal survival. One of these emergencies are traumatic brain injuries such as concussion. These result in cerebral edema, reduced cerebral perfusion, and risk of brain herniation. The intracranial hemorrhage causes rapid compression of the brain tissue and acute brainstem. CNS emergencies also constitute damage to the spinal cord. These emergencies result in loss of motor and sensory function, high cervical injuries, and neurogenic shock.
Airway and Respiratory Emergencies:
The airways and respiratory emergencies impairs oxygen delivery which result in organ failure. The airway obstruction causes immediate risk of hypoxia and cardiac arrest. Pulmonary contusion is caused due to the blunt chest trauma, thus resulting in alveolar damage. It impairs cardiac arrest and causes progressive hypoxia over 24–48 hours. Another airway emergency is acute respiratory distress syndrome i.e., severe lung injury. It causes non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and refractory hypoxemia.
Cardiovascular Emergencies:
These conditions cause circulatory collapse and inadequate tissue perfusion. The hemorrhagic shock results in reduced circulating volume, organ ischemia, and can even result in mortality. The cardiac contusion is caused due to blunt chest trauma and is characterized by compressed heart chambers, reduced diastolic filling and rapid progression to shock.
The following imaging modalities are used to assess trauma and critical conditions:
The X-rays work by directing ionizing radiation onto the area under observation. As these radiations are absorbed by the body, the residual radiations are captured by the detector. This process results in a 2D grayscale image depicting the internal structure of the region. This is a rapid, cost-effective radiological imaging method, hence it is used as a first-line examination tool for several trauma and critical conditions.
Ultrasound works by using high-frequency sonic waves directed onto the area of interest. As these waves return back, these are captured and depicted in the form of high-quality images. An ultrasound is an effective tool in the visualization of pericardium, pelvis, pneumothorax, hemothorax, etc. It is used to detect hemoperitoneum, cardiac tamponade, pleural fluid, and lung sliding.
CT imaging is similar to X-ray in the sense that it uses ionizing radiation to visualize the internal anatomical structures. In CT, images are captured from multiple planes. These images are reconstructed into a high-resolution 3D image using a computerized system. CT imaging is a key technique in trauma imaging and is effective in the diagnosis of fractures, hemorrhages, traumatic injuries, etc.