RESUMO
Background: The treatment of simple rib fractures in older adults can be divided into surgical treatment and nonsurgical treatment, with indications for surgery presently being unclear. This study was conducted to determine whether older adult individuals with simple multiple rib fractures can benefit from surgical treatment. Methods: A single-center, retrospective study was conducted. All 880 registry-identified patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to Beijing Jishuitan Hospital with blunt rib fractures between 2013 to 2020 were included. They were divided into 2 groups according to whether internal fixation was performed. After screening of inclusion and exclusion criteria and propensity score matching, there were 226 patients, 113 of whom were placed in the operation group and 113 in the nonoperation group. The demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, number of rib fractures, hospital stay, intensive care unit (ICU) hospital stay, mechanical ventilation duration, fracture comorbidities on admission, pain index, and fracture healing condition were analyzed using chi-squared test and independent samples t test. Results: The pain score and fracture healing time were significantly improved in the operation group (P<0.05), while the duration of painkiller use was significantly shorter in the operation group (P=0.009). However, there was no significant differences in mortality, the incidence of bone nonunion, length of stay in the ICU, or duration of mechanical ventilation between the 2 groups. Conclusions: For patients in the clinical study, internal fixation surgery could reduce fracture healing time and minimize the use of painkillers. Surgical treatment was determined to be safe, as it did not increase the mortality of the older adult patients. For older patients with simple rib fractures who have no contraindications to surgery, internal fixation surgery is recommended.
RESUMO
Background: Rib fractures are the most common injuries in chest trauma. Compared with younger patients, elderly patients with rib fracture have a higher incidence of complications and mortality. A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the effect of internal fixation compared with conservative treatment on the outcome of rib fracture in elderly patients. Material and methods: We used a 1:1 propensity score matching method to perform a retrospective analysis of 703 elderly patients with rib fractures treated in the Thoracic Surgery Department of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital between 2013 and 2020. After matching, the length of hospital stay, death, symptom relief and rib fracture healing were compared between the surgery and the control group. Results: The study included 121 patients receiving SSRF in the surgery group and 121 patients receiving conservative treatment in the control group. The length of hospital stay in the surgery group was significantly longer than that in the conservative group (11.39d vs. 9.48d, p = 0.000). After 9 months of follow-up, the fracture healing rate in the surgery group was significantly higher than that in the control group (96.67% vs. 88.89%, p = 0.020). The fracture healing time (p = 0.000), improvement in pain score (p = 0.000) and duration of pain medication use (p = 0.000) were also significantly better in the surgery group than in the control group. Conclusion: Compared with conservative treatment, surgical treatment can prolong hospital stay to some extent. However, it has the advantages of more rapid healing and lessened pain. For rib fractures in elderly individuals, surgical treatment is a safe and effective option under strict surgical indications and is recommended.
