Abstract
The mainstay management of rib fracture is provision of adequate analgesia and the prevention of respiratory complications that can all stem from poor ventilatory function amongst other patient factors and injury patterns. Through the decades, surgical stabilisation has gained pace and has found its niche in the management of rib fractures.
Highlights
Rib fractures are amongst the most common fractures following major trauma presenting to the Emergency Department
As the population ages the incidence of rib fractures rises often following falls from a relatively small height being part of fragility fractures
We studied the number of rib fracture stabilisation procedures and the average number of ribs fixed
Summary
Rib fractures are amongst the most common fractures following major trauma presenting to the Emergency Department. It accounts for more than 15% of ED presentations [1] on a global scale. The impact of rib fractures is even more significant in the patient with underlying chronic respiratory conditions. When one considers an elderly patient with limited Functional Residual Capacity with an underlying diagnosis of chronic obstructive airway disease, with the addition of the presence of a flail segment will invariably lead to respiratory embarrassment either acutely and /or lead to pulmonary complications in the form of basal atelectasis and pneumonia. In the presence of flail segment, the mortality rate is noted to be higher at 33% perhaps as due to further respiratory embarras-
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