Intraabdominal solid organ injury (SOD associated with rib fracture occur commonly in our motoriged and sometimes violent society. A study was undertaken to assess whether the site and type of rib fracture had a diagnostic association with the intraabdominal solid organ injury. We have brought together 185 patients with rib fracture who visited emergency room and 45 patients having rib fracture and intraabodominal SOT between January, 1991 and September, 1994, retrospectively. Various site and type of rib fracture were compared whether SOT was associated or not.
1) In the rib fracture with coexistent ´ SOT group, anybody under the age of 14 showed the type of linear fracture. But over 14 years old group showed more frequent SOT in the type of displaced fracture than that in linear fracture (p--0. 0036).
2) In overall patients, the frequency of SOT was not significantly different between the linear and displaced type (p > 0.05) .
3) The frequency of coexistent SOI was more often in lateral or posterior rib fracture group than that in anterior rib fracture group (p=0.0041).
4) There was no significant relation between the severity of SOI and type of rib fracture (p> 0. 05).
5) The rib fracture with coexistent hemothorax group showed more frequent SOT than ...that of rib fracture without hemothorax group (p< 0. 0001).
6) In hepatic injured patients with rib fracture, the elevated liver enzymes have stepwise decreased to normal level in proportion to the progress of treatment.
Based on these results, these would be a kind of ,helpful guide for the high suspicion of coexistent SOT in patients having rib fracture.
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