2018 Volume 32 Issue 3 Pages 403-406
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.
