Table 3

Complications of patients with traumatic rib fractures

OutcomeTotal patientsPolytrauma (ISS >16)Elderly (>65 years)Isolated thoracic traumaFlail chestType of injury
YesNoYesNoYesNoYesNoBluntPenetrating
n=564 798n=253 564n=311 234n=161 579n=403 219n=350 898n=213 900n=23 388n=541 410n=539 422n=16 179
Pneumonia28 841 (5.1)22 578 (8.9)6263 (2.0)7917 (4.9)20 924 (5.2)9178 (2.6)19 663 (9.2)3203 (13.7)25 638 (4.7)27 594 (5.1)779 (4.8)
ARDS11 488 (2.0)9190 (3.6)2314 (0.7)3127 (1.9)8361 (2.1)3590 (1.0)7898 (3.7)1360 (5.8)10 128 (1.9)10 917 (2.0)391 (2.4)
DVT9895 (1.8)8022 (3.2)1873 (0.6)2649 (1.6)7246 (1.8)2647 (0.8)7248 (3.4)1043 (4.5)8852 (1.6)9435 (1.7)337 (2.1)
Pulmonary embolism4341 (0.7)3200 (1.3)1141 (0.4)1040 (0.6)3301 (0.8)1459 (0.4)2882 (1.3)376 (1.6)3965 (0.7)4130 (0.8)158 (1.0)
Myocardial infarction1993 (0.4)1264 (0.5)729 (0.2)1288 (0.8)705 (0.2)841 (0.2)1152 (0.5)160 (0.7)1833 (0.3)1993 (0.4)30 (0.2)
Cardiac arrest with CPR8380 (1.5)7007 (2.8)1373 (0.4)2871 (1.8)5509 (1.4)2311 (0.7)6069 (2.8)944 (4.0)7436 (1.4)7787 (1.4)482 (3.0)
  • All data are presented as mean (%).

  • ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; DVT, deep vein thrombosis; ISS, Injury Severity Score.