European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Dec 2014
Diagnosing isolated nasal fractures in the emergency department: are they missed or overdiagnosed? Ten years experience of 535 forensic cases.
Nasal bone is the most common broken bone of the face. Incorrect assessments of nasal trauma are frequently encountered in forensic evaluations. Here, we aimed to determine the reasons and frequency of erroneous assessments of nasal trauma in emergency department (ED). ⋯ We found that nasal fractures are rarely missed while the overdiagnosis was very common. Examination of patients by a general practitioner or an emergency physician without consultation with a specialist and using only plain radiographs were found to be independent parameters affecting overdiagnosis.