Aortic Transection Following Air-Bag Deployment

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Deceleration injury to the thoracic aorta due to high-speed motor vehicle collisions is a well-known phenomenon. Air bags have been shown to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with high-speed injuries when used in conjunction with lap and shoulder belts.1,2 Air-bag deployment alone has recently been implicated as a cause of clinically significant thoracic injury to unrestrained drivers.2-4 Air bags inflate at a rate of 6 liters per millisecond, generating a velocity that has been measured at 157 to 338 km per hour (98 to 211 miles per hour).5 Injury of the descending thoracic aorta in association with the deployment of an automobile air bag has been reported.3 We report an injury of the ascending thoracic aorta from the deployment of an air bag in a low-speed accident.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: