Airway management changes associated with rising radiologic incidence of external laryngotracheal injury.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic laryngeal injuries are uncommon life-threatening injuries that require prompt, rational management of a potentially precarious airway. It is unclear whether the current incidence of laryngotracheal injury is due to enhanced injury detection or increased occurrence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relations between diagnostic imaging with both initial airway management and surgical treatment in patients with external laryngotracheal injuries (ELTIs) in Alberta.

METHODS: In this large-scale population-based analysis, we used regional health databases containing inpatient admissions, emergency department visits and trauma service activations employing International Classification of Diseases diagnostic codes to identify all ELTIs diagnosed from Apr. 1, 1995, to Dec. 31, 2011, in adults (age ≥ 16 yr). We evaluated health records and diagnostic imaging for injury features, airway management, operative interventions and hospital length of stay (LOS).

RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of ELTIs increased over time, paralleling a rise in detection during the period incorporating greater computed tomography (CT) use ( p = 0.002). Endotracheal tube intubation was performed in 8/30 cases (27%) in the pre-CT era, compared to 38/59 cases (64%) in the post-CT era ( p = 0.001); the use of surgical intervention remained consistent. The largest contributors to increased endotracheal tube placements were the emergency department and emergency medical services. No change in survival was detected, but mean LOS among patients admitted for minor, isolated ELTIs increased by 2.3 (95% confidence interval 0.14-4.8) days ( p = 0.06), mostly for patients admitted under critical care for mechanical ventilation.

CONCLUSION: Management of ELTIs shifted from predominantly conservative airway monitoring to endotracheal tube intubation over the study period in spite of no clinically significant change in injury severity or operative intervention frequency. The location of endotracheal tube placement suggests less comfort with ELTI among first-responder and emergency personnel.