The Rib Fracture Map in Patients with High-Energy Mechanisms of Injury.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to use a novel rib unfurling technology to investigate the locations of multiple rib fractures occurring from high-energy trauma to discern if there are reproducible rib fracture patterns. Patients between the ages of 18 and 48 presenting to a Level 1 academic trauma center with ≥ 2 rib fractures following a high-energy mechanism of injury between 2017 and 2019 were identified. Curved planar reformatting of CT scans was used to create two-dimensional unfurled rib images by flattening out the view of the ribs from a CT scan. Rib fractures were placed on a template map using a standardized measurement method and subsequent frequency and heat maps were created. Among 100 consecutive patients, 534 fractures on 454 ribs were identified. The most common high-energy mechanism of injury was motor vehicle accidents (41%). Flail chest occurred in 8% of patients. The mean number of ribs fractured per patient was 4.54 ± 3.14 and included a mean of 5.34 ± 4.38 total fractures. Among all fractures, 50.9% were located on ribs 4 through 7. The most common fracture location was located in the lateral or anterolateral zone of the ribcage. Patients with multiple rib fractures from high-energy trauma have rib fractures with locations of common occurrence. An understanding of location and frequency of rib fractures can help inform surgical approaches, prognosis, indications, classifications, and implant design in the management of a complex population of patients with chest wall injury following trauma. Diagnostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.