Isolated Cricoid Fracture Associated with Blunt Neck Trauma
A Case Report
Keywords:
Isolated cricoid fracture, FOL (fiberoptic laryngoscopy), CT scanAbstract
A 19-years-old Thai male presented at the emergency department Samutsakorn Hospital because he had an accident slipped and fell in the bathroom, his neck crashed against edge of washbowl. 1 day before arrival of hospital, he had odynophagia, neck edema and pain at neck. 6 hours before hospital arrival he had hoarseness of voice, no dyspnea, no stridor. On physical examination, the vital sign was stable. He had contusion and 4 cm abrasion wound at left side of neck. Evaluation by neck radiograph in AP and lateral views were normal, cervical spine and larynx were normal. FOL (fiberoptic laryngoscopy) was done, finding left FVC (false vocal cord) hematoma, left TVC (true vocal cord) paresis, and patent airway. Then CT scan of neck was sent for evaluation and revealed mild displaced fracture of right lateral aspect of right cricoid cartilage. The patient could be treated successfully through continuous monitoring of airway obstruction without surgical management. 4 days after admission to hospital, hoarseness, dyspnea, and difficulty in swallowing disappeared. The patient was discharged without complication. Laryngeal trauma, a rare injury, occurs from external laryngeal trauma accounts for only 1 in 30,000 of emergency room visit. In
particular, cricoid injury is reported to occupy <50% of laryngeal trauma. The diagnosis of cricoids fracture is frequently missed, owing to its extremely low prevalence. This report showed a case of isolated cricoid fracture that developed after blunt neck trauma.
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ลิขสิทธิ์บทความเป็นของผู้เขียนบทความ แต่หากผลงานของท่านได้รับการพิจารณาตีพิมพ์ลงวารสารแพทย์เขต 4-5 จะคงไว้ซึ่งสิทธิ์ในการตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกด้วยเหตุที่บทความจะปรากฎในวารสารที่เข้าถึงได้ จึงอนุญาตให้นำบทความในวารสารไปใช้ประโยชน์ได้ในเชิงวิชาการโดยจำเป็นต้องมีการอ้างอิงถึงชื่อวารสารอย่างถูกต้อง แต่ไม่อนุญาตให้นำไปใช้ในเชิงพาณิชย์
