Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Research Article
Early Surgical Stabilization of Rib Fractures Leads to Favorable Short-Term Outcomes of Flail Chest Injuries: A Retrospective Study
Author(s): Shun-Mao Yang*, Po-Keng Su, Ying-Hao Su, Chun-Hsiung Huang, Alban Don Wang, Guan-Been Chen, Hsiung Tu and Meng-Kan Chen
Background: The optimal timing for Surgical Stabilization of Rib Fractures (SSRF) in the Flail Chest (FC) has not
been established. This study was designed to study the effects of different timing for SSRF in patients with FC and
analyze the subgroup of patients with an FC who can have maximal benefit.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with FC, who underwent SSRF between May, 2016
and February, 2020. The enrolled patients were divided into the early (operation ≤ 48 h after injury) and late
(operation>48 h after injury) SSRF groups. The primary outcome measures were the Duration of Mechanical
Ventilation (DMV), duration of Intensive Care Unit stay (ICU stay) and Duration of Hospital Stay (HLOS). The
secondary outcome measures were the incidence of pneumonia, tracheostomy and mortality.
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