Open AccessSternal and Thoracic Spinal Fractures: Case Reports of Two in One Accident
Author(s) -
Sia JYS,
Wong DYT
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
hong kong journal of emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.145
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2309-5407
pISSN - 1024-9079
DOI - 10.1177/102490790601300213
Subject(s) - medicine , spinal fracture , thorax (insect anatomy) , sternum , fracture (geology) , emergency department , guideline , thoracic vertebrae , surgery , computed tomography , radiology , lumbar vertebrae , anatomy , lumbar , geotechnical engineering , pathology , psychiatry , engineering
Two restrained back‐seat taxi passengers suffered from sternal fracture as a result of head‐on collision with another car. They were wearing shoulder‐lap seat belts at the time of the collision. Both of them also complained of upper back pain one day after admission. Computed tomography of the thorax showed fracture of the thoracic spine in both of them. We performed literature search, analysing the mechanism of sternal fracture and its association with spinal fracture. A management guideline in the emergency department is proposed to handle this injury.