The relation between scapula fracture and the severity of trauma in blunt thoracic trauma

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to determine the level of presence of scapula fractures (SFs) in cases of blunt thoracictrauma and to identify other injuries accompanying SF.Materials and methods: Blunt thoracic trauma cases with SF determined on direct radiography or computerized tomography (CT) werecategorized as Group 1. Group 2 was constituted by selecting cases with high injury severity score (ISS) with no SF. The demographiccharacteristics and all injuries of the patients were evaluated.Results: SF was determined in 77 (11.3%) patients (Group 1), and Group 2 consisted of 607 patients. The ISS was significantly higher inGroup 1 (27.7 ± 16.1) than Group 2 (15.9 ± 9.5) (P < 0.001). The rate of SF with direct radiography was only 9.1%, and more than 90%of patients were evaluated using CT. The most common accompanying injury to SF was rib fracture (44.2%), and the odds ratio was 2.4(95% CI: 1.51–3.72).Conclusion: The incidence of SF in cases of blunt trauma was higher than in previous studies. The use of CT in blunt trauma candetermine SF that cannot be identified through physical examination or radiography, and the most commonly observed accompanyingdamage in these patients is rib fracture.