[Diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic significance of sternal fractures]

This paper is a retrospective study based on a group of 62 patients with sternal fractures (SF), selected from a group of 637 patients presented in our unit with thoracic trauma between 1997 and 2004. The aim of this study is to evaluate SF from the epidemiological, etiopathogenic, diagnostic and therapeutic point of view. The incidence of SF was 12.24%. We studied two subgroups, differentiated by SF morphology and therapeutic approach: first group of 24 patients with complex SF, in which we performed sternal osteosynthesis and a second group treated only conservatively. We studied the correlation between anatomo-lesional status and the diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic factors. The study concluded that SF was a benign entity that can be safely managed with analgesia and rest. Selected cases can benefit from sternal osteosynthesis.