Treatment of Fractured Ribs

Management and treatment of patients with fractured ribs.

Rib fractures are a common injury to the chest. The mainstay of treatment is adequate analgesia coupled with meticulous respiratory care in order to prevent complications. Treatment can be as an outpatient, but patients with more severe fractures may be admitted to hospital for oxygen therapy, ventilation, aggressive analgesic techniques and physiotherapy. Significant morbidity and mortality ra...

Continuous pain relief for multiple fractured ribs.

Patients with fractured ribs admitted to an intensive care unit are in two categories: (a) multiple fractures with a flail segment; (b) one or more fractures but without a flail segment. One of the latter group is described in this report. Usually these patients are treated in a general ward and are admitted to the intensive care unit when pain prevents coughing, deep breathing and bronchial to...

An assessment of outcomes with intramedullary fixation of fractured ribs

BACKGROUND Surgical management of fractured ribs with internal fixation is an increasingly accepted therapy. Concurrently, specific rib fixation prostheses are being developed which should improve results and minimise hardware and rib/splint construct failures. The Synthes titanium intramedullary splint lends itself to difficult to access areas such as posterior rib fractures and fractures unde...

Pain Management in Multiple Fractured Ribs; Role of Regional Analgesia

Acute pain management of patients with multiple fractured ribs: a focus on regional techniques.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Thoracic trauma leading to multiple fractured ribs (MFR) remains very common. Good analgesia may help to improve a patient's respiratory mechanics and to avoid intubation of the trachea for ventilatory support and therefore may dramatically alter the course of recovery. We herein review the analgesia options for patients with MFR. RECENT FINDINGS For healthy patients with on...