Invited Commentary

I congratulate the authors on their efforts to address the complex issue of whether surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) in the setting of trauma results in improvements in morbidity and mortality. There were 116 patients from their institution identified as candidates for SSRF, with these patients being compared against a random sampling of 1,000 patients from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) with a similar Injury Severity Score (ISS). The study found that pneumonia and mortality rates were lower for SSRF patient vs those managed nonoperatively, but length of stay, ICU stay, and tracheostomy rates were higher.

Source: Journal of the American College of Surgeons - May 23, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Francis J. Podbielski Tags: New England surgical society article Source Type: research