Evaluating the Relationship between Rib Fractures and the Probability of Abdominal Trauma; a Brief Report

Journal Title: مجله طب اورژانس ایران - Year 2015, Vol 2, Issue 1

Abstract

Introduction: Trauma is one of the most important causes of death in patients under 40 years of age and the third common cause of death regardless of age. Rib cage damages are one of the major reasons for death in the early minutes post-trauma. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of intra-abdominal injury in the patients with rib fracture who were referred to emergency department. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 60 patients with rib fractures who were admitted to the emergency department of Poorsina Hospital, Rasht, Iran, from March 2011 to March2012. A checklist was filled out for all the patients including age, sex, trauma mechanism, side and site of fracture, the number of broken ribs, the results of abdominal ultrasonography, the need for laparotomy and mortality. The collected data were classified based on descriptive statistics and analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: 60 patients with the mean age of 47.26±13.71 years were admitted to the emergency department during this time (81.7% male). The most common mechanism of trauma was car accident [22(36.7%]. Among these 60 patients, 71 rib fractures in 3 levels of chest (upper, middle, lower) were detected and 50 (83.3%) in the same area. Mean number of fractured ribs was 2.85±2.2 (minimum: 1, maximum 10). In 3 (5%) patients, fracture was on both sides. The results of abdominal ultrasonography in 7 (11.7%) patients were positive. The number of fractured ribs (p=0.017) and the area of the fracture (p=0.048) showed a significant correlation with the presence of intra-abdominal free fluid. The fracture of more than 2 ribs directly correlated with the possibility of intra-abdominal hemorrhage (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that the number and area of the fractured ribs directly and significantly correlate with the probability of abdominal trauma based on the results of abdominal ultrasonography.

Authors and Affiliations

Keywords

Related Articles

120 Cases of Shoulder Dislocation referred to Emergency Department during One Year; a Case Series Study

Shoulder dislocation is identified as displacement of humerus head from the glenoid cavity of scapula bone, which makes up about 50% of total joint dislocations. Taking into account the importance of the side effects and...

Cause and Outcome of Preventable Accidents in the Elderly; an Epidemiologic Study

Introduction: With the growing population of the elderly in societies, the medical problems of this age range also increases. Preventable accidents are among these problems. More than 5 million people die as the result o...

Serum Paraoxonase-1 Changes in Thermal Burn Patients

Introduction: An increase in oxidant concentration or a drop in anti-oxidants leads to an imbalance in oxidant/anti-oxidant equilibrium and a condition called oxidative stress. It seems that recovery from anti-oxidant de...

Level of Patients’ Satisfaction from Emergency Medical Services in Markazi Province; a Cross sectional Study

Introduction: One way of evaluating medical services is through assessment of patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is a concept that has become so important in medical care nowadays and is even more important in pr...

Adverse Effects of Intratracheal Intubation by Emergency Medicine Residents; a Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Airway management of patients is among the responsibilities of an emergency medicine specialist. To decrease the adverse effects of intubation, sufficient knowledge of the drugs used and proper skill in int...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP353663
  • DOI 10.22037/ijem.v2i1.8021
  • Views 141
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

(2015). Evaluating the Relationship between Rib Fractures and the Probability of Abdominal Trauma; a Brief Report. مجله طب اورژانس ایران, 2(1), 49-53. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-353663