Ultrasound:

An ultrasound image showing early pulmonary contusion, at this moment not visible on radiography. Interstitial syndromes are expressed with the vertical white lines, the "B-lines".Pulmonary ultrasound, performed at the bedside or on the accident scene, is being explored as a diagnosis for pulmonary contusion. Its use is still not widespread, being limited to facilities which are comfortable with its use for other applications, like pneumothorax, airway management, and hemothorax. Accuracy has been found to be comparable to CT scanning.

Prevention:

Prevention of pulmonary contusion is similar to that of other chest trauma. Airbags in combination with seat belts can protect vehicle occupants by preventing the chest from striking the interior of the vehicle during a collision, and by distributing forces involved in the crash more evenly across the body. However, in rare cases, an airbag causes pulmonary contusion in a person who is not properly positioned when it deploys. Child restraints such as carseats protect children in vehicle collisions from pulmonary contusion. Equipment exists for use in some sports to prevent chest and lung injury; for example, in softball the catcher is equipped with a chest protector. Athletes who do not wear such equipment, such as basketball players, can be trained to protect their chests from impacts. Protective garments can also prevent pulmonary contusion in explosions.Although traditional body armor made from rigid plates or other heavy materials protects from projectiles generated by a blast, it does not protect against pulmonary contusion, because it does not prevent the blast's shock wave from being transferred to the lung. Special body armor has been designed for military personnel at high risk for blast injuries; these garments can prevent a shock wave from being propagated across the chest wall to the lung, and thus protect wearers from blast lung injuries.These garments alternate layers of materials with high and low acoustic impedance (the product of a material's density and a wave's velocity through it) in order to "decouple" the blast wave, preventing its propagation into the tissues.

Treatment:

No treatment is known to speed the healing of a pulmonary contusion; the main care is supportive. Attempts are made to discover injuries accompanying the contusion, to prevent additional injury, and to provide supportive care while waiting for the contusion to heal. Monitoring, including keeping track of fluid balance, respiratory function, and oxygen saturation using pulse oximetry is also required as the patient's condition may progressively worsen. Monitoring for complications such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome is of critical importance. Treatment aims to prevent respiratory failure and to ensure adequate blood oxygenation. Supplemental oxygen can be given and it may be warmed and humidified.When the contusion does not respond to other treatments, extracorporeal membranous oxygenation may be used, pumping blood from the body into a machine that oxygenates it and removes carbon dioxide prior to pumping it back in.