Occult Fractures Research Articles

The current management of scaphoid fractures in the emergency department across an Australian metropolitan public health service: A retrospective cohort study.

Scaphoid fractures are commonly present to emergency departments (EDs), challenging medical practitioners to achieve accurate diagnosis and management. This is because of the prevalence of radiographically occult scaphoid fractures and complications associated with missed diagnoses. Clinical Guidelines are limited for treatment of suspected scaphoid fractures, and heterogeneity in the literature further complicates management. This study aimed to explore the differences in management between practitioners in the ED and determine if immobilizing clinically suspected scaphoid fractures is supported by current evidence. This study also aimed to establish if there are predictors to assist in the diagnosis of a scaphoid fracture in the ED. A retrospective cohort study analyzed clinical data from patient's charts who attended the ED for a scaphoid fracture in 2019. Using retrospective patient chart audits and a Data Extraction Form, the clinical data regarding the assessment, treatment, diagnosis, and follow-up outcomes were collected. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression were performed to assess current management and find out predictors of a scaphoid fracture. There was significance between practitioners performing physical assessments and providing treatment (P < .001). Physiotherapists performed assessment and education combined treatment more frequently than nurse practitioners and doctors. Thirty-four cases (11.7%) were negative for fracture in ED and positive in follow-up at the orthopedic clinic. There was an estimated loss of income of $327,433.60 (Australian dollar) for 221 patients who missed work due to overtreatment with immobilization. The strongest predictors for a confirmed scaphoid fracture were of male gender (odds ratio, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-5.0; P < .001) and a positive x-ray in ED (odds ratio, 36.6; 95% confidence interval, 17.4-77.0; P < .001). Management of scaphoid fractures across the Gold Coast Hospital Health Service ED followed commonly accepted practices involving x-ray and immobilization; however, this conservative approach to management is associated with increased health costs and low rates of conversion to a confirmed scaphoid fracture. Male gender was the only significant predictor associated with a scaphoid fracture.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Children with a Radiological Fat Pad Sign without Visible Elbow Fracture Vary Widely: An International Online Survey and Development of an Objective Definition.

Children often present at the emergency department with a suspected elbow fracture. Sometimes, the only radiological finding is a ‘fat pad sign’ (FPS) as a result of hydrops or haemarthros. This sign could either be the result of a fracture, or be due to an intra-articular haematoma without a concomitant fracture. There are no uniform treatment guidelines for this common population. The aims of this study were (1) to obtain insight into FPS definition, diagnosis, and treatment amongst international colleagues, and (2) to identify a uniform definition based on radiographic measurements with optimal cut-off points via a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. An online international survey was set up to assess the diagnostic and treatment strategies, criteria, and definitions of the FPS, the probability of an occult fracture, and the presence of an anterior and/or posterior FPS on 20 radiographs. Additionally, the research team performed radiographic measurements to identify cut-off values for a positive FPS, as well as test–retest reliability and inter-rater reliability via intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). A total of 133 (paediatric) orthopaedic surgeons completed the survey. Definitions, further diagnostics, and treatments varied considerably amongst respondents. Angle measurements of the fat pad as related to the humeral axis line showed the highest reliability (test–retest ICC, 0.95 (95% CI 0.88–0.98); inter-rater ICC, 0.95 (95% CI 0.91–0.98)). A cut-off angle of 16° was defined a positive anterior FPS (sensitivity, 1.00; specificity, 0.87; accuracy, 99%), based on the respondents’ assessment of the radiographs in combination with the research team’s measurements. Any visible posterior fat pad was defined as a positive posterior FPS. This study provides insight into the current diagnosis and treatment of children with a radiological fat pad sign of the elbow. A clear, objective definition of a positive anterior FPS was identified as a ≥16° angle with respect to the anterior humeral line.

Detection of ankle fractures using deep learning algorithms

BackgroundEarly and accurate detection of ankle fractures are crucial for optimizing treatment and thus reducing future complications. Radiographs are the most abundant imaging techniques for assessing fractures. Deep learning (DL) methods, through adequately trained deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), have been previously shown to faster and accurately analyze radiographic images without human intervention. Herein, we aimed to assess the performance of two different DCNNs in detecting ankle fractures using radiographs compared to the ground truth. MethodsIn this retrospective case-control study, our DCNNs were trained using radiographs obtained from 1050 patients with ankle fracture and the same number of individuals with otherwise healthy ankles. Inception V3 and Renet-50 pretrained models were used in our algorithms. Danis-Weber classification method was used. Out of 1050, 72 individuals were labeled as occult fractures as they were not detected in the primary radiographic assessment. Single-view (anteroposterior) radiographs was compared with 3-views (anteroposterior, mortise, lateral) for training the DCNNs. ResultsOur DCNNs showed a better performance using 3-views images versus single-view based on greater values for accuracy, F-score, and area under the curve (AUC). The highest sensitivity was 98.7 % and specificity was 98.6 % in detection of ankle fractures using 3-views using inception V3. This model missed only one fracture on radiographs. ConclusionThe performance of our DCNNs showed that it can be used for developing the currently used image interpretation programs or as a separate assistant solution for the clinicians to detect ankle fractures faster and more precisely. Level of evidenceIII

Association of ‘Low Risk’ Fractures With Abuse in Young Children

Association of ‘Low Risk’ Fractures With Abuse in Young Children

Elbow Injuries in Children

Elbow Injuries in Children

Medical Management of Common Comorbidities in Elderly Patients with Proximal Femur Fractures

Objectives: Provide a framework for the medical treatment of patients with proximal femur fractures. Design: Literature review and evidence based note template. Intervention: Medical management of patient undergoing operative fixation of proximal femur fracture. Main outcome measurement: Perioperative morbidity. Results and conclusions: Proximal femur fractures are common orthopaedic injuries in the geriatric population and present with morbidity and portend mortality. The current evidence suggests that most patients should be surgically managed 24-48 hours from injury in accordance with patient preferences and medical risk stratification. Doing so is likely to improve postoperative outcomes and save both patients and hospital systems financial resources. After proper history and physical examination, imaging with plain radiographs is recommended, with MRI indicated in occult fractures. There are numerous cardiovascular, cognitive, and endocrinologic comorbidities that may delay or impact surgical treatment of hip fracture patients. This review discusses informed consent, cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, anticoagulation, preoperative cardiovascular evaluation, anemia, congenital heart disease, cerebrovascular accident, hyponatremia, diabetes mellitus, end-stage renal disease, osteoporosis, COVID-19 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and history of bariatric surgery. A proper understanding of how these conditions affect hip fracture patients may help orthopaedic surgeons to expedite surgery safely and effectively and may also serve as a framework in the management of other fragility fractures in patients with comorbidities. Level of Evidence: IV, systematic review Keywords: Hip Fracture, Medical co-management, Geriatrics, Fragility fracture, Osteoporosis, Comorbidity, Comorbidity management, Anesthesia, Perioperative morbidity, Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular, Renal disease, Surgical timing. (J Ortho Business 2022; Volume 2, Issue 2

Proximal humeral fracture-dislocations: which patterns can be reduced in the emergency department?

Shoulder fracture-dislocations can represent a challenging management scenario in the emergency department (ED) because of concern for the presence of occult fractures that may displace during a reduction attempt. The alternative, a closed reduction attempt in the operating room, has the benefit of full paralysis but requires additional resource utilization. There is limited guidance in the literature about the risks of an initial reduction attempt in the ED as a function of fracture pattern to help guide physicians with this decision. This was a retrospective case review of adult patients with shoulder dislocations and fracture-dislocations seen in the ED at a level 1 trauma center over a 10-year period. Imaging and medical records were reviewed to evaluate whether the reduction attempt was successful, unsuccessful without worsening, or unsuccessful with worsening alignment of any fractures, as well as the ultimate clinical outcome. We identified 165 patients with fracture-dislocations and 484 patients with simple dislocations during the same period. Of the patients with fracture-dislocations, 103 had greater tuberosity fractures, 12 had nondisplaced surgical neck fractures, and 50 had displaced surgical neck fractures. None of the patients with simple dislocations had displacement during an ED reduction attempt, including 100 patients aged >65 years. Of the 103 patients with greater tuberosity fracture-dislocations, only 1 had displacement of a humeral shaft fracture during ED reduction. Displacement occurred in 6 of 8 patients with nondisplaced neck fractures who underwent an initial ED reduction attempt vs. 1 of 4 patients who underwent the initial reduction attempt in the operating room. ED reduction was attempted in 25 of the 50 displaced humeral neck fracture-dislocations and was successful in 10 of these (40%). For patients with greater tuberosity fracture-dislocations, there is a low rate of displacement with a reduction attempt in the ED, but an ED reduction attempt in nondisplaced neck fractures is not recommended because of the high rate of displacement. For displaced neck fractures, closed reduction can be successful in select patients. Finally, these data confirm prior reports that closed reduction of simple shoulder dislocations in patients aged >65 years is safe in the ED.

Can Weightbearing Cone-beam CT Reliably Differentiate Between Stable and Unstable Syndesmotic Ankle Injuries? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Ankle injuries are common presentations to the emergency department and may lead to syndesmotic instability. These have a high socioeconomic burden due to prolonged rehabilitation, chronic pain, and posttraumatic arthritis. Early diagnosis is essential to minimize these complications, and the assessment of instability in the clinical setting is often limited by pain and clinician experience. Cross-sectional imaging of the distal syndesmosis accurately evaluates the syndesmosis through abnormal bony relationships, which in the presence of instability, worsens during physiological loading. Cone-beam CT (CBCT) has gained popularity in the diagnosis of these injuries because it enables syndesmotic assessment under weightbearing conditions, it mitigates the high radiation dose, and it is time-efficient. The purposes of this systematic review were: (1) to establish normal values for weightbearing CBCT of the syndesmosis in uninjured ankles and ascertain interobserver reliability and (2) to identify the impact of weightbearing on the syndesmosis in patients with occult ankle injuries and assess the effect of patient demographics on these metrics. This systematic review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (ID CRD42021248623). MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, and Emcare databases were searched for studies assessing for syndesmotic instability, of which 307 studies were screened and 11 studies with 559 ankles in 408 uninjured patients and 151 patients with syndesmotic instability were included. All patients 18 years of age or older presenting with unilateral ankle injuries who underwent weightbearing CBCT for the diagnosis of an occult fracture or syndesmotic instability compared with the uninjured contralateral side were included. A control group of uninjured ankles was identified during weightbearing CBCT performed for other indications such as forefoot or midfoot injuries. Methodological assessment of the studies was performed using the Risk of Bias In Non-randomized Studies (ROBINS-1) tool and most included studies had a low risk of bias. Thus, a random-effects restricted maximum likelihood ratio model was used. In the uninjured ankle, the mean area of the tibiofibular syndesmosis was 112.5 ± 7.1 mm 2 , which increased to 157.5 ± 9.6 mm 2 after injury when compared with uninjured ankles with a standardized mean difference of 29.5 (95% confidence interval 19.5 to 39.5; p < 0.01), and an excellent interobserver agreement (κ = 1.0 [95% CI 0.9 to 1.0]). However, syndesmosis volume decreased with age (β = -0.76; p = 0.04), and therefore, has a negative association with increasing age. Our study has shown that the syndesmotic area is the most reliable parameter in the assessment of syndesmotic injuries because it increases in the presence of instability during weightbearing status. It is a composite measurement that could potentially allow clinicians to use weightbearing CBCT as an adjunct when there is a clinical suspicion of syndesmotic instability. Thus, weightbearing CBCT has the potential of being diagnostic of syndesmotic instability and should be evaluated against current radiological modalities to evaluate its accuracy. Level IV, prognostic study.

Fatal non-accidental injury in South Africa: A Gauteng hospital's perspective on the incidence and fracture types in post-mortem skeletal surveys.

BackgroundIn its severest form, non-accidental injury (NAI) in children is fatal. South Africa has been reported to have double the global average of child homicides. Autopsy is the main investigation in fatal NAI with post-mortem skeletal surveys (PMSS) playing an adjunctive role. Whilst fracture patterns associated with NAI in living patients have been established, this has not been investigated in PMSS in South Africa.ObjectivesTo determine the incidence and characteristics of fractures in suspected fatal NAI cases. To calculate the incidence of fractures according to high-, moderate- and low-specificity fracture locations for NAI.MethodsA retrospective review of all PMSS performed between 01 January 2012 and 03 December 2018 was conducted at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.ResultsOf the 73 PMSS, 33 (45.2%) demonstrated fractures. No statistical significance in sex was found: 38 (52.1%) were male and 35 (47.9%) were female (p > 0.05). The mean age of those who sustained fractures was 28 months (standard deviation [s.d.]: 21 months). A total of 115 fractures were sustained, of that the top five bones fractured were the ribs 37 (32.2%), parietal bone 13 (11.3%), ulna 13 (11.3%), femur 13 (11.3%), and radius 11 (9.6%). High-specificity fracture locations accounted for 40/133 (30.1%).ConclusionThe fracture types in PMSS were similar to those in live skeletal surveys. Our study’s fracture rate was higher in comparison to international studies. The PMSS is a valuable adjunct to autopsy in detecting occult fractures of the limbs. We recommend that PMSS be performed in suspected fatal NAI cases at least in children up to 24 months of age.

Diagnostic value and limitations of CT in detecting rib fractures and analysis of missed rib fractures: a study based on early CT and follow-up CT as the reference standard

To evaluate the value and limitations of computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of rib fractures, and to discuss the characteristics of missed rib fractures. One hundred and sixty chest trauma patients who underwent both early CT (within 48 h) and follow-up CT (14 days later) were enrolled. For early CT examinations, the diagnosis of rib fractures was divided into routine assessment and verification assessment. The detection rates of rib fractures in both patterns were calculated, and the characteristics of missed rib fractures were analysed, based on the imaging results of the twice CT examinations as the reference standard. A total of 584 fracture sites were confirmed. The overall detection rate of rib fractures in the routine assessment method was 72.4%. In the verification assessment, the detection rates of rib fractures of four observation strategies (axial images, multiplanar reconstruction [MPR], axial images+volume reconstruction [VR] and MPR+VR) were 76.2%, 79.1%, 78.6%, 80.8%, respectively. The incidence of occult fractures was 19.2% (112/584). In both assessment methods, the detection rates of rib fractures at the costochondral junction were the lowest (60%, 65%, respectively); the detection rates ranged from 63.6% to 74.7% for non-displaced rib fractures, but 100% for displaced rib fractures. Most (78.9%) missed rib fractures were accompanied by visible fractures on the same or adjacent first to second rib. Most missed rib fractures are occult on early CT, which is attributable to the limitations of the CT technique. The number of displaced rib fractures on early CT is a more stable and reliable clinical indicator.

The Past, Present, and Future of Deep-Tissue (Pressure) Injury.

The Past, Present, and Future of Deep-Tissue (Pressure) Injury.

Evaluating Distal Radius Radiological Indices as Scaphoid Fracture Risk Factors

Background: Scaphoid fracture is the most common wrist injury with a high rate of misdiagnosis and subsequent complications. As the morphology of the distal radius affects the load transmission through the carpal bones, radiographic wrist indices may help prevent missing occult fractures. Objectives: The current retrospective case-control study compared the distal radius radiographic indices of patients with a scaphoid fracture with a control group. Methods: Wrist X-rays of 129 patients with scaphoid fractures (case group) and the contralateral uninjured side of 101 patients with distal radius fractures (control group) were assessed by two orthopedic surgeons. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were evaluated to measure the radial height (RH), radial inclination (RI), ulnar variance (UV), and volar tilt (VT). Results: The student t-test was used to compare the distal radius radiographic indices between the two groups. The average RI was 27.14 in the scaphoid fracture group and 24.35 in the control group (P&lt;0.05). Mean VT, RH, and UV of the case group were, 12.32, 15.01, and - 0.73, respectively; this is while in the control group, the above measures were 10.76, 13.52, and - 0.11, respectively (P&lt;0.05). Conclusion: High values of RH, RI, and VT, and negative amount of UV are significantly correlated with scaphoid fracture after a Fall Onto an Outstretched Hand (FOOSH) injury.

Child Abuse Imaging and Findings in the Time of COVID-19.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical abuse in young children, we compared the following before and during the pandemic: (1) skeletal survey volume, (2) percent of skeletal surveys revealing clinically unsuspected (occult) fractures, and (3) clinical severity of presentation. We hypothesized that during the pandemic, children with minor abusive injuries would be less likely to present for care, but severely injured children would present at a comparable rate to prepandemic times. We expected that during the pandemic, the volume of skeletal surveys would decrease but the percentage revealing occult fractures would increase and that injury severity would increase.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study of children younger than 2 years undergoing skeletal surveys because of concern for physical abuse at a tertiary children's hospital. Subjects were identified by querying a radiology database during the March 15, 2019–October 15, 2019 (pre–COVID-19) period and the March 15, 2020–October 15, 2020 (COVID-19) period, followed by chart review to refine our population and abstract clinical and imaging data.ResultsPre–COVID-19, 160 skeletal surveys were performed meeting the inclusion criteria, compared with 125 during COVID-19, representing a 22% decrease. No change was observed in identification of occult fractures (6.9% pre-COVID vs 6.4% COVID, P = 0.87). Clinical severity of presentation did not change, and child protective services involvement/referral decreased during COVID.ConclusionsDespite a >20% decrease in skeletal survey performance early in the pandemic, the percent of skeletal surveys revealing occult fractures did not increase. Our results suggest that decreases in medical evaluations for abuse did not stem from decreased presentation of less severely injured children.

Distal articular involvement in tibial shaft fractures: an evaluation of 125 consecutive cases.

To report the incidence and morphology of ipsilateral distal articular involvement (DAI) in a consecutive series of tibial shaft fractures. A retrospective review was performed on 115 patients who underwent intramedullary nailing for tibia shaft fractures. Ankle evaluations included preoperative radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans in all patients. Thirty-two patients (27.8%) in our series presented with tibial shaft fractures associated with DAI. Tibial spiral fractures (42A1) were significantly related to DAI (RR: 1788). In 28 (87.5%; 28/32) articular fractures, posterior malleolus fractures (PMF) were present; 22 were isolated, and six (18.8%) occurred in combination with medial malleolus or anterolateral fractures. The remaining (12.5%; 4/32) were isolated medial malleolus fractures. Ten (31.2%; 10/32) articular fractures were occult on the radiographs and only detected on CT scan. DAI is common in tibial shaft fractures. CT evaluation is mandatory due to the high number of occult fractures. Although isolated PMF is the most frequent pattern of DAI involvement, 31.3% of the cases exhibited different patterns.

Use of Point-of-Care Ultrasound to Identify Occult Fractures of the Tibia in the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Case Series

BackgroundAlthough point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been shown to be useful in the identification of both pediatric and adult long-bone fractures in the emergency setting, radiography remains the standard of care. Emergency physicians are often faced with the dilemma of how to evaluate and treat the child with lower leg injury and physical examination concerning for fracture but no readily identifiable fracture line on radiography. Case ReportsWe present four cases in which POCUS was used to diagnose a radiographically occult fracture of the proximal tibia in young children. This is the first case series of occult fracture of the tibia diagnosed with POCUS. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?POCUS can demonstrate evidence of fracture even after unremarkable radiography is obtained, and POCUS findings consistent with fracture might allow for more effective guidance on discharge.

An attention‐based cascade R‐CNN model for sternum fracture detection in X‐ray images

Fracture is one of the most common and unexpected traumas. If not treated in time, it may cause serious consequences such as joint stiffness, traumatic arthritis, and nerve injury. Using computer vision technology to detect fractures can reduce the workload and misdiagnosis of fractures and also improve the fracture detection speed. However, there are still some problems in sternum fracture detection, such as the low detection rate of small and occult fractures. In this work, the authors have constructed a dataset with 1227 labelled X-ray images for sternum fracture detection. The authors designed a fully automatic fracture detection model based on a deep convolution neural network (CNN). The authors used cascade R-CNN, attention mechanism, and atrous convolution to optimise the detection of small fractures in a large X-ray image with big local variations. The authors compared the detection results of YOLOv5 model, cascade R-CNN and other state-of-the-art models. The authors found that the convolution neural network based on cascade and attention mechanism models has a better detection effect and arrives at an mAP of 0.71, which is much better than using the YOLOv5 model (mAP = 0.44) and cascade R-CNN (mAP = 0.55).

Assessment of Ankle Fractures using Deep Learning Algorithms and Convolutional Neural Network

Category:Ankle; TraumaIntroduction/Purpose:Early and accurate detection of ankle fractures is crucial for reducing future complications. Radiographs are the most abundant imaging techniques for assessing fractures. We believe deep learning (DL) methods, through adequately trained deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), can assess radiographic images fast and accurate without human intervention. In this study, we aimed to assess the performance of two different DCNNs in detecting ankle fractures using radiographs compared to the ground truth.Methods:In this retrospective study, our DCNNs were trained using radiographs obtained from 1050 patients with ankle fracture and the same number of individuals with otherwise healthy ankles. Inception V3 and Renet50 pre-trained models were used in our algorithms. Danis-Weber classification method was used. Out of 1050, 72 individuals were labeled as occult fractures as they were not detected in the primary radiographic assessment. Using single-view radiographs was compared with 3-views (anteroposterior, mortise, lateral) for training the DCNNs.Results:Our DCNNs showed a better performance using 3-views images versus single-view based on greater values for accuracy, F-score, and area under the curve (AUC). The sensitivity and specificity in detection of ankle fractures using 3-views were 97.5% and 93.9% using Resnet50 compared to 98.7% and 98.6 using inception V3, respectively. Resnet50 missed 3 occult fractures while Inception V3 missed only one case. In cases that detected the fracture, the saliency map showed the location of the fracture (Figure 1).Conclusion:The performance of our DCNNs showed a promising potential that can be considered in developing the currently used image interpretation programs or as a separate assistant to the clinicians to detect ankle fractures faster and more precisely.

COMPARATIVE RADIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS OF ACUTE TRIANGULAR FIBROCARTILAGE COMPLEX INJURIES.

The aim was to analyze patients with clinical diagnosis of triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) lesion using standard x-ray, ultrasound, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR arthrography (MRA); to evaluate the accuracy of MRA compared with MRI in the diagnosis of this lesion; and to evaluate ultrasound as a method of diagnosing TFCC lesion. We analyzed 72 patients (46 female and 26 male; age range, 22-61 years; mean age 37 years; 50 right and 22 left wrists) with suspected TFCC lesion with clinical examination, standard x-rays, and ultrasound. We confirmed patients with traumatic TFCC injury on MRI and MRA. Ultrasound found 13 lesions in 72 patients with suspected TFCC lesions. Conventional MRI found 66 and MRA 68 TFCC lesions. Ultrasound is useful for visualizing intra-articular effusion, soft tissue, bone surface, and for early detection of occult fractures. MRI is a better diagnostic modality, fully able to visualize the TFCC cartilage and ligaments. MRA is consistently and accurately able to visualize structural abnormalities of TFCC.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head following an occult femoral neck stress fracture

Introduction. Osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral head (FH) ? (ONFH) is an intractable disease that causes progressive femoral head collapse, severe pain, and gait disturbance. We report a case of avascular necrosis of the femoral head following an occult femoral neck (FN) stress fracture. Case report. A 55-year-old woman presented to our department with a chief complaint of low back pain that radiated into the left anterolateral thigh over the period of two months. Her left anterolateral thigh became progressively more painful over the past two weeks. No abnormal findings indicative of ONFH or an occult fracture of the FN were detected by X-ray or computed tomography, but an occult insufficiency fracture of the left FN was identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The diagnosis of FN stress fracture was delayed, resulting in femoral head necrosis. The fracture was treated with total hip arthroplasty, and the resected FH was subjected to histopathology (HP). Based on the HP findings, the final diagnosis of this case was ONFH with an occult fracture of the left FN. Clinical symptoms were relieved postoperatively. Conclusion. An early MRI examination is recommended in patients presenting with a suspected stress fracture of the FN to avoid FH necrosis due to a delayed diagnosis.

Ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of an Occult Tibial Plateau Fracture

We describe a case of posttraumatic lateral tibial plateau fracture that was not demonstrated by conventional radiography. Knee joint ultrasound showed mild lateral meniscal protrusion suggestive of an intra-articular injury, which was confirmed at magnetic resonance imaging to represent an occult lateral tibial plateau fracture. A high index of suspicion for occult fractures should be maintained in posttraumatic patients with ultrasound findings of meniscal protrusion, in spite of apparently normal X-ray findings.