The Ice Hockey Injury by Phil Stephens

Part VI—The X-Ray

A nurse entered the ER with an envelope. “Dr. Anderson, here is the x-ray you asked for.”

The ER physician pulled the x-ray out of the envelope and jammed it into the light box.

“Now, let’s see what’s going on. Coach, Andy, I’ve put a normal x-ray over here so that you can compare it with Rick’s.”

“It’s at a slightly different angle, but Rick’s chest x-ray doesn’t look normal to me,” said Andy.

Figure 3—Normal	Figure 4—Rick

Questions

1. What does Rick’s x-ray indicate about his condition?
2. Do you wish to modify your list of possible diagnoses at this time? What new information did you use to modify that list?
3. Check the data table and confirm that each entry is consistent with your diagnosis.

Image Credits
Figure 3—Courtesy of US FDA.
Figure 4—Reprinted from Kuhlman, J.E., et al. Radiographic and CT findings of Blunt Chest Trauma: Aortic Injuries and Looking Beyond Them. RadioGraphics 1998;18:1085–1106. Fig. 22. Used with permission of the authors and the Radiographic Society of North America.

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