Significance of Scapular Fracture Existence in Blunt Chest Trauma: A Retrospective Cohort Study

• Published in: Surgery research and practice 2024, Vol.2024, p.3550087-6
• Main Authors: Hefny, Ashraf F., Mansour, Nirmin A., Hefny, Mohamed A., Masuadi, Emad, Al Bahri, Shadi, Elkamhawy, Ashraf A., Saber, Khalid S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2356-7759; 2356-6124
• DOI: 10.1155/2024/3550087

Background. Scapular fracture is a rare encounter in blunt trauma patients. The scapula is surrounded by strong groups of muscles offering good protection for the bone. Therefore, a high-energy trauma is needed to cause a scapular fracture. We aim to study scapular fractures and their relation to injury severity and mortality in blunt chest trauma (BCT) patients. Methods. We retrospectively collected data from all patients with BCT who were admitted to our hospital from December 2014 through January 2017. The injury details of all BCT patients were retrieved from the trauma registry of the hospital and were supplemented by patients’ electronic files for missing information. Collected data included demography, mechanism of injury, vital signs, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) on admission, injured body regions, management, Injury Severity Score (ISS), New Injury Severity Score (NISS), length of hospital stay (LOS), and mortality. Results. During the study period, 669 patients had BCT. Scapular fracture was present in 29 (4.3%) of the BCT patients. The scapular fracture was missed by chest X-ray in 35.7% of the patients; however, it was accurately diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest. Neck injury was significantly higher in patients with scapular fracture compared with patients without fracture (p