What is flail chest?
Flail chest is a condition in which three or more ribs
break at two points either on the one side of the chest or both sides of the
sternum. In this way, the broken ribs have no attachment to the rest of the rib
cage. So, the paradoxically moving chest after chest trauma refers to flail chest.
How to manage flail chest?
In minor cases where the patient is stable, the
patient is observed with good analgesia and oxygenation until the flail segment
stabilizes.
In severe cases, positive pressure ventilation can be
required.
What are the complications of flail chest?
- Pneumonia
- ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome)
- Need for mechanical ventilation
- Respiratory failure
- Death
- Longer hospital stay
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| Source: www.commons.wikimedia.org |
Keywords: Flail chest, Broken ribs, Chest trauma,
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