Journal of the Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma
Online ISSN : 2188-0190
Print ISSN : 1340-6264
ISSN-L : 1340-6264
Case Reports
FAT EMBOLISM SYNDROME SECONDARY TO A THORACOLUMBAR COMPRESSION FRACTURE AND RIB FRACTURE : A CASE REPORT
Yumi ICHIKAWAYuta ISSHIKIYusuke SAWADAJun NAKAJIMAMinoru KANEKOMakoto AOKIMasato MURATAShuichi HAGIWARAKiyohiro OSHIMA
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2018 Volume 32 Issue 3 Pages 403-406

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Abstract

  An 80-year-old man who fell from a 2 m stepladder was transferred to our emergency room. Computed tomography (CT) imaging revealed a thoracolumbar compression fracture and rib fractures. Three hours later, his consciousness level suddenly decreased and breathing state worsened. We diagnosed fat embolism syndrome (FES) as a chest X-ray showed infiltration of both sides, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed high signal scattering on a diffusion weighted image (DWI), and fat droplets were found in his blood. His clinical state improved with the aid of a respirator and steroid treatment, and he was discharged on the 49th day. FES generally occurs following long bone and pelvic bone fractures. However, although it is very rare, FES may also occur following a vertebral bone fracture and non-fracture blunt injury.

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© 2018 The Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma
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