Pulmonary fat embolism after pelvic and long bone fractures in a trauma patient

Abstract

Fat embolism is a common complication of pelvic and long bone fractures. Macroscopic fat emboli in the pulmonary arteries on computed tomography have been reported postoperatively after fixation of long bone fractures for trauma, however the quantification of attenuation values of fat emboli have been infrequently reported in the literature. We present a case of pulmonary fat embolism in a 52-year-old female after acute bony trauma sustained during a motor vehicle accident. To the authors' knowledge however, pulmonary fat embolism has not been described on the initial trauma CT scan.