Sternal fixation for isolated traumatic sternal fractures improves pain and upper extremity range of motion

Introduction Sternal fractures are debilitating due to intractable pain, constant fracture movement and limited range of motion (ROM) of the upper extremities (UE). Traditional treatment comprises mainly of pain control, delaying return to daily activities. Recently, sternal fixation has gained popu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of trauma and emergency surgery (Munich : 2007) 2022-02, Vol.48 (1), p.225-230
Main Authors: Bauman, Zachary M., Yanala, Ujwal, Waibel, Brett H., Malhotra, Gautam K., Cemaj, Samuel, Evans, Charity H., Schlitzkus, Lisa L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Critical Care Medicine
Emergency medical care
Emergency Medicine
Female
Fracture Fixation, Internal
Fractures
Humans
Intensive
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Narcotics
Original Article
Pain
Pain, Postoperative
Patients
Range of motion
Range of Motion, Articular
Retrospective Studies
Sports Medicine
Surgery
Surgical Orthopedics
Thoracic Injuries
Trauma
Traumatic Surgery
Treatment Outcome
Upper Extremity
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Summary:Introduction Sternal fractures are debilitating due to intractable pain, constant fracture movement and limited range of motion (ROM) of the upper extremities (UE). Traditional treatment comprises mainly of pain control, delaying return to daily activities. Recently, sternal fixation has gained popularity. There is, however, a lack of literature demonstrating efficacy. We report our experience of traumatically fractured sternal fixation. Methods Following IRB approval, a retrospective chart review was completed for all patients undergoing sternal fixation by a single trauma surgeon at our Level I trauma center. Basic demographics were obtained. Primary outcomes included average cumulative pain scores, total cumulative narcotic amounts and total number of pain medication agents utilized prior to and after sternal fixation. Secondary outcome included physical therapy UE ROM before and after surgery. Paired t tests were used for comparison; significance set at p  
ISSN:1863-9933
1863-9941
DOI:10.1007/s00068-020-01568-x