• Christina Ottomeyer, Benjamin C Taylor, Mark Isaacson, Lara Martinez, Pierce Ebaugh, and Bruce G French.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Doctor's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: drbentaylor@gmail.com.
• Injury. 2017 Feb 1; 48 (2): 469-473.

IntroductionSimultaneous ipsilateral clavicle and acromioclavicular (AC) joint injury have been infrequently reported in the literature at this time. The purpose of this study was to assess incidence as well as assess risk factors for this dual injury pattern.MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of a prospectively collected database (Level III evidence), evaluating 383 adult patients without previous shoulder girdle injury or trauma with a minimum 1-year follow-up who sustained a displaced diaphyseal clavicle fracture. All patients in the study underwent either nonoperative management or surgical reduction and stabilization of a diaphyseal clavicle fracture with a plate and screw construct. Study subjects were followed with serial radiographs. Clavicle and shoulder radiographs, as well as chest radiographs and contralateral films in questionable cases, were used to assess for acromioclavicular joint injury in both operative and nonoperative groups. Additional data was collected on concurrent injuries, patient demographics, fracture characteristics, fixation techniques, surgical/post-operative data, and operative or nonoperative treatment.ResultsWe found that 13/183 (7.1%) of patients undergoing fixation of a diaphyseal clavicle fracture had an ipsilateral AC joint injury, while 13/200 (6.5%) of patients undergoing conservative management had an ipsilateral AC joint injury. Critical analysis of the data revealed that presence of ipsilateral scapular body fractures, and a likely incidental association with superior plating fixation, were associated with an increased rate of this injury pattern.ConclusionsIpsilateral clavicle fracture and AC joint injury is much more common than traditionally believed, with an incidence of 6.8% overall. It is unknown how the presence of an associated AC injury influences outcome, as AC injury was not universally symptomatic.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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