US versus conventional radiography in the diagnosis of sternal fractures

Purpose: To investigate the value of ultrasonography (US) in the diagnosis of sternal fractures. Material and Methods: Twenty-three patients (mean age 35.4 years) with a cl inical suspicion of sternal fracture after blunt chest trauma were retrospe ctively reviewed. At admission, a.p. and lateral chest radiographies and st ernal US were obtained. Sternal fractures were classified as nondisplaced o r displaced. US and conventional radiographic findings were compared. Results: In 3/23 (13.0%) of the patients, no fracture was found by radiogra phy or by US. Both radiography and US demonstrated sternal fractures in 16/ 23 (69.6%) of the patients. Sternal fractures were detected only by US whil e the conventional radiography was negative in 2/23 (8.7%) cases. Also in 2 /23 (8.7%) of the patients with US positive for fracture, radiographies wer e suspicious. In 2 patients, the degree of fracture displacement on US was lesser than that found by radiography. Conclusion: US was better than lateral radiography to diagnose sternal frac tures; however, conventional radiography remains the standard means of demo nstrating grade of displacement.