Pediatric sternal fractures from a Level 1 trauma center

Sriram Ramgopal*, Shahab A. Shaffiey, Kavitha A. Conti

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background/purpose: Sternal fractures are rare in children. The purpose of this series is to document traumatic findings in pediatric patients with sternal fractures at a Level 1 trauma center. Study design: We reviewed the charts of patients with radiologically confirmed sternal fractures from a trauma database at a pediatric Level 1 trauma center between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2015. We report mechanisms of injury, associated injuries, complications, and outcomes associated with sternal fractures. Results: Over the 16-year period, 19/25,781 (0.07%) admitted patients had radiologically confirmed sternal fractures. 15/19 (78.9%) patients were male. The median age was 14 years, with interquartile range 10–16 years. 7/19, (36.8%) were sustained owing to motor vehicle accidents. Associated injuries included substernal hematoma (n = 6), pulmonary contusion (n = 4), vertebral injury (n = 2), rib fracture (n = 4), intraabdominal injury (n = 3), pneumothorax (n = 3), long bone injury (n = 3) traumatic brain injury (n = 2), hemothorax (n = 2), pneumomediastinum (n = 2) and cardiac contusion (n = 1). Conclusions: In this series, pediatric sternal fractures were caused by high velocity mechanisms and had significant comorbidity. While patients with isolated sternal fractures may be candidates for emergency department discharge, a thorough evaluation should be performed in children with sternal fractures to identify concurrent injuries. Level of evidence: Level IV.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1628-1631
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of pediatric surgery
Volume54
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2019

Keywords

  • Cardiac contusion
  • Children
  • Hemothorax
  • Injury
  • MVA
  • Pediatric
  • Pneumomediastinum
  • Pneumothorax
  • Trauma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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