Lost fractures: prevalence and risk factors for missed costosternal and costal cartilage fractures among patients with radiologic chest wall injury.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Costosternal cartilages and the costal margin, collectively termed costal cartilage, are hyaline cartilage connecting ribs to the sternum and to adjacent ribs, respectively. Presence of intact costal cartilage is essential for elasticity of the chest wall. Anecdotally, costal cartilage injuries are underdiagnosed on trauma CT scan in patients with rib fractures. Our aim was to determine a baseline frequency of acute costal cartilage injury among patients presenting with rib fractures.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of injured adult patients admitted to Level I/II trauma centers with rib fractures from January 2020 to July 2024. CT images obtained at admission were manually reviewed by chest wall surgeons for presence of costal cartilage injury.

SUBMITTER: Forrester JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12815250 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature