Medicolegal Evaluation of Long-Term Respiratory Functions in Patients Injured Due to Traffic Accidents

Aim Blunt chest trauma is a frequent injury in developing countries, with motor vehicle accidents being the most common cause. Most studies about the effects of post-traumatic injuries on pulmonary functions are related to the acute phase. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of injury type on pulmonary function tests as a long-term disability in patients with severe chest trauma due to traffic accidents. Methods In our study, 53 patients were admitted to the Forensic Expert Council with the aim of determining the disability ratio at least six months after the traffic accident. All patients who had a respiratory function test because of respiratory symptoms and whose reporting period was completed were appreciated. A retrospective examination of the forensic committee reports, types of injuries, and current pulmonary function test results were analyzed and the data were evaluated by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.0 program (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results Thirty-two (32) of the patients were male while 21 were female. Their average age was 39.88 ± 15.29. Sixty-six percent (66%; n: 35) of the cases were injured due to in-vehicle traffic accidents, 18.9% (n: 10) due to motorcycle accidents, 15.1% (n: 8) due to non-vehicle traffic accidents. The number of cases with costa fractures was 47 and 74.4% of these cases had three or more rib fractures. The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC-Tiffeneau-Pinelli index) was calculated as 85.3% ± 9.45, and the average FVC was 84.3 ± 14.98%. The average number of rib fractures in all patients was 3.41 ± 2.24. It was observed that tube thoracostomy was performed in seven of 12 cases with FEV1/FVC below 80%, and the average number of rib fractures was 3.75. In 20 cases where the FVC average was below 80%, the mean number of rib fractures was 3.8, and tube thoracostomy was performed in 10 of these cases. The highest FEV1 value was 116%, and the lowest FEV1 value was 35%. The FEV1 value of 23 cases was between 75% and 95%. The highest FEV1/FVC value was 113% and the lowest FEV1/FVC value was 50%. The FEV1/FVC values of 38 cases were between 80% and 100%. Conclusions In our study, most patients achieve near-complete recovery in pulmonary function tests; the impact of pre-existing pulmonary compromise on recovery is less known. The number of rib fractures can reflect the severity of the blunt trauma but it would not necessarily predict the resulting pulmonary function. These results are consistent with the previous studies. Further larger prospective studies are required to investigate different factors affecting prognosis.