traffic accidents

On December 27, news from the National Children’s Hospital said that doctors had just treated a boy who had an accident while playing with a three-wheeled electric vehicle.

The patient is PNK (6 years old, in Hai Duong). According to information from the family, the child was playing with a 3-wheeled electric vehicle near the house when he fell and the car’s steering wheel hit his neck. After the fall, the child begins to have difficulty breathing, swelling in the cheeks, neck, and chest area.

Immediately, the family took the child to the provincial hospital for emergency treatment. Realizing that this was an extremely complicated, life-threatening injury, doctors quickly intubated the child and transferred him to the hospital. Central Children’s Hospital.

At the Department of Emergency and Poison Control – National Children’s Hospital, doctors determined that this was a case of tracheal trauma causing pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, and subcutaneous emphysema to a large extent, threatening life. life without diagnosis and emergency intervention.

Pediatric patients are supported with mechanical ventilation, fluid replacement, use of vasopressors, sedatives and broad-spectrum antibiotics to avoid infection in the mediastinum.

Immediately after that, the doctors urgently sent the child for a chest X-ray, a chest computed tomography scan with tracheobronchial tree visualization, and an emergency tracheoscopy.

The investigation results showed that the child suffered a traumatic rupture of the posterior wall of the trachea, had bilateral pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and pneumothorax all over the body. The child was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Treatment Department for continued resuscitation and consultation to find a suitable intervention for the patient.

Leading specialties in the hospital include: Thoracic Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery and the anesthesia team, Resuscitation, Respiratory specialists, Ear, Nose and Throat, and Imaging Diagnosis immediately organized a hospital consultation on patient’s injury status. The conclusion of the consultation was that patient PNK had a large, prolonged tracheal tear and was indicated for emergency surgery.

Doctor Pham Anh Tuan – Department of Surgical Intensive Treatment, National Children’s Hospital said: “The most difficult thing in the process of resuscitating pediatric patients before surgery is intubation through the tear site, very edema. Many times, just a small mistake can put the child in more serious danger.

We must combine intubation and gentle ventilation to avoid damage to the lungs and reduce airway pressure for the child, maintaining the most stable patient condition before entering surgery.”

After detailed planning, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ly Thinh Truong – Director of the Cardiovascular Center, National Children’s Hospital, along with a team of doctors from the Hospital and a support team from Military Hospital 108, performed the surgery. surgery for pediatric PNK patients

Doctors performed sutures, fixed the lesions, performed microsurgery to correct the trachea, and drained the pediatric patient’s pneumothorax.

After 3 stressful hours, the surgery was successful, the patient’s condition improved positively, no more pneumothorax, improvement in respiratory failure, and stable vital signs. The child was maintained sedated, ventilated and continued to be transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Department for close monitoring and special care.

After 5 days, the child can breathe on his own and is scheduled to be discharged from the hospital in the next few days, however, the patient still needs regular follow-up visits for doctors to monitor the recovery process. According to doctors, although the injury is severe, when fully recovered, the functions of the trachea and bronchi will function normally and the child’s quality of life will be guaranteed.

Through the case of baby PNK, doctors also recommend that parents should choose age-appropriate games and media for their children and pay closer attention to their children during play. , to avoid unfortunate daily life accidents that endanger children’s lives.