Introduction
Significant development in the management of chest trauma has been achieved; however, the proper chosen management, whether surgically or nonsurgically, for each patient is still uncertain. Our study aimed to detect the proper management of rib fracture cases.
Patients and materials
Our prospective study focused on multiple rib fractures in patients admitted to Asyut University hospitals in the period from June 2017 till March 2019. All premanagement and postmanagement variables had been well analyzed, such as the age of the patient, mode of trauma, number and site of rib fractures, type of management whether surgically or nonsurgically, and post proper management outcomes.
Results
Our study included 100 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. There were 81 male and 19 female patients. The mean age was 39.39±16.21 years. Seventy-six patients were injured by motor vehicle accidents, 19 falls from height, and five from other causes. Hemopneumothorax was the most frequent pleural complications with a percentage of 53% followed by pulmonary contusion (29%). Flail chest was noticed in 24 cases; 14 of them had been managed surgically and 10 nonsurgical. Seven cases of multiple rib fractures, without fail chest, had been managed surgically. The mortality rate was 7%, and all of them were flail chest cases.
Conclusion
Each patient should be selectively managed, whether surgically or nonsurgically, as early as possible after chest trauma.