Management of Post-Traumatic Sternal Fractures in a West African Country: the Case of Niger

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic fractures of the sternum are relatively rare injuries and occur against the backdrop of high-energy chest trauma. The severity of these lesions is mainly related to their association with life-threatening cardiovascular lesions. Their treatment is mostly conservative. The aim of this work is to report the results of the management of post-traumatic fractures of the sternum in Niger. Patients and methods: a 27-month retrospective study involving 9 patients with a post-traumatic fracture of the sternum treated at the thoracic surgery department of the General Reference Hospital of Niamey. 8 of these patients were treated with conservative methods and 1 benefited from osteosynthesis by a screwed ankle plate adapted to the sternum. Results: The mean age of patients was 41.78 years (14 to 60 years). The male sex was predominant with 7 cases or 77.77%. Public road traffic is the most common occurrence circumstance found in 88.9% of cases. Symptomatology was dominated by presternal chest pain. The site of the fracture was at the level of the manubrium in 66.6% of cases and the most common type of fracture was the simple fracture in 55,56 of cases. Pulmonary contusion and hemothorax were the most associated lesions with respectively 44.4% each. There was 1 case of death in the context of polytrauma. Conclusion: Post-traumatic fractures of the sternum are rare and potentially serious, requiring multidisciplinary management.