• G Engin, E Yekeler, R Güloğlu, B Acunaş, and G Acunaş.
• Department of Radiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, University of Istanbul, Turkey.
• Acta Radiol. 2000 May 1;41(3):296-9.

PurposeTo investigate the value of ultrasonography (US) in the diagnosis of sternal fractures.Material And MethodsTwenty-three patients (mean age 35.4 years) with a clinical suspicion of sternal fracture after blunt chest trauma were retrospectively reviewed. At admission, a.p. and lateral chest radiographies and sternal US were obtained. Sternal fractures were classified as nondisplaced or displaced. US and conventional radiographic findings were compared.ResultsIn 3/23 (13.0%) of the patients, no fracture was found by radiography or by US. Both radiography and US demonstrated sternal fractures in 16/23 (69.6%) of the patients. Sternal fractures were detected only by US while the conventional radiography was negative in 2/23 (8.7%) cases. Also in 2/23 (8.7%) of the patients with US positive for fracture, radiographies were suspicious. In 2 patients, the degree of fracture displacement on US was lesser than that found by radiography.ConclusionUS was better than lateral radiography to diagnose sternal fractures; however, conventional radiography remains the standard means of demonstrating grade of displacement.

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