Myth of the dangerous sternal fracture.

Abstract

To look at the hospital course and the outcome of patients with an isolated sternal fracture. Retrospective analysis of hospital records. A large urban Level I trauma center. Blunt trauma patients with an isolated sternal fracture. Patients with other chest radiograph abnormalities were excluded, as were those with abnormal admission ECGs. Thirty-one patients with an isolated sternal fracture were identified. No patient developed new ECG changes or arrhythmias during the hospital stay. Cardiac enzymes were elevated in one patient (3.2%). No patient had any adverse cardiopulmonary outcome attributable to the sternal fracture. The outcome of patients with an isolated sternal fracture and a normal ECG is very good. Routine admission and cardiac monitoring do not appear to be warranted in this subset of patients with a sternal fracture.