ROLE OF COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY SCAN IN EVALUATING THE WIDENED MEDIASTINUM

Thirty-eight blunt trauma patients with a suspicion of thoracic aortic injury were assessed by computed tomography (CT) scan, aortography, a nd chest x-ray. Twenty-eight of the 38 patients had widened mediastinu m by chest x-ray; four of 13 CT scans were abnormal. No patient with a negative CT scan had aortic injury by aortogram. A normal, non-dynami c CT scan of the chest should influence one's decision-making in the n eed for aortography.