Final answer:
Respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, stridor, and coughing are indicative of tracheobronchial injury. Tracheobronchial injuries may occur along the respiratory tract but frequently at the intubation site. Diagnostic tests like spirometry help in identifying the extent and location of the injury.
Step-by-step explanation:
The signs and symptoms (S/S) associated with a tracheobronchial injury often involve respiratory distress and may include a collection of the following issues: shortness of breath, wheezing or stridor, hoarseness, cough, and pain with swallowing. Specific to tracheobronchial injuries, these symptoms result from airway constriction, irritation, and potential swelling. The injury can also cause a sensation of a lump in the throat which complicates breathing, leading in severe cases to symptoms like shock, characterized by a severe drop in blood pressure, a rapid pulse, dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness.
Given the anatomy of the respiratory system, where the trachea bifurcates into two primary bronchi and branches out extensively into the lungs, an injury facilitated by intubation might occur at any point along this tract, particularly at the beginning of the pharynx where intubation is initiated.
Conditions like bronchitis, which is an inflammation of the bronchi causing cough and wheeze, or pneumothorax, a collapsed lung due to connective tissue abnormalities, exhibit similar symptoms and would benefit from diagnostic procedures such as spirometry to measure lung capacity and detect airway obstructions.