You are called to the scene of a single-vehicle accident in which the car struck a concrete wall. The restrained driver of a vehicle is a 20-year-old male who is deceased upon your arrival.
What is the most likely etiology of this patient’s death?
Explanation
Answer: B- Patients who sustain sudden change in speed or direction at a high rate of speed are at a high risk of sustaining a blunt force trauma injury to the chest, which results in traumatic aortic dissection.
This acute injury is almost always fatal and occurs most commonly when occupants of the vehicle are not restrained, but also can occur when seat belts and airbags are in use.
Traumatic brain injury, splenic rupture, and pericardial tamponade are also serious and life threatening, but often these patients do not expire prior to transport to the emergency department.
