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Sternal fractures in a level III trauma intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE
to evaluate epidemiology, anatomical characteristics, management, and prognosis of critical patients with sternum fractures.


METHODS
retrospective analysis of patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of a Level III trauma center in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


RESULTS
1552 trauma patients were admitted from January 2012 to April 2016. A total of 439 patients had thoracic trauma and among these, 13 patients had sternum fracture, making up 0.9% of all trauma admissions and 3% of all thoracic trauma cases. Three of these 13 patients had unstable chest, two underwent surgical management for fracture fixation, and three died (mortality was of 29%). In one of the deaths, sternum fracture was assessed as the main contributor to the outcome.


CONCLUSION
sternum fracture was diagnosed in 0.9% of critical trauma patients in a specialized ICU. Only 15% of patients required specific surgical management in the acute phase. In most cases, mortality was due to other injuries.