Traumatic aortic rupture: roentgenographic indications for angiography.

The principal radiological indication for thoracic aortography following blunt chest trauma has been a widened mediastinum on chest roentgenogram. The presence or absence of sixteen findings on 100 cm anteroposterior supine chest roentgenograms were noted and compared in 47 consecutive patients who underwent aortography following blunt thoracic trauma and 100 patients without trauma. On the basis of our data, we propose six radiological indications for thoracic aortography following chest trauma: mediastinum greater than 8 cm on 100 cm AP supine chest film; tracheal shift to the right; blurring of the normally sharp outline of the aorta; obliteration of the medial aspect of the apex of the left upper lobe; opacification of the clear space between the aorta and pulmonary artery; and depression of the left main bronchus below 40 degrees.