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Sternal fractures are usually associated with high-energy trauma. Conventional wisdom has been that patients with sternal fractures require hospitalization because of the injury mechanism (usually motor vehicle crash), potential for occult associated injury, and severity of pain. In this retrospective study of 1867 patients with sternal fracture who were admitted to Israeli trauma centers over a 12-year period, the authors compared in-hospital events between patients with isolated sternal fractures (26%) and those with sternal fractures associated with other injuries (polytrauma; 73%).
Patient characteristics and mechanisms of injury (mostly motor vehicle collisions and falls from significant height) were similar in the two groups. Compared …