J Acute Care Surg.  2017 Oct;7(2):56-60. 10.17479/jacs.2017.7.2.56.

Whole Body Bone Scan for Detecting Missed Bone Injuries in Multiple Trauma Patients

• Jeong HY
• Kim IK
• Choi SH
• Lee C
• Ju MK

• KMID: 2395632
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17479/jacs.2017.7.2.56

Abstract

PURPOSE
Patients with multiple traumas often experience multiple fractures that are missed or overlooked, despite the use of imaging, careful history taking, and physical examinations. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of whole body bone scan (WBBS) for detecting missed bone injuries in patients with multiple traumas.
METHODS
We evaluated 30 patients with multiple traumas who underwent WBBS at single tertiary referral center between March 2008 and February 2016. We assessed the association of patient demographics with WBBS uptake as a binomial outcome variable.
RESULTS
There were no significant differences in patient demographics by WBBS. The mean injury severity score did not differ by WBBS (18.1 in the WBBS-negative group vs. 18.4 in the WBBS-positive group), and duration from admission to the evaluation of the WBBS was similar (5.4 days in both groups). The most common uptake site in the WBBS was the ribs (n=7), followed by the tibia (n=3), skull (n=2), ankle (n=1), and sternum (n=1). None of the missed injuries required further treatment, such as manual reduction or surgery.
CONCLUSION
WBBS was useful for detecting missed bone injuries in patients with multiple trauma.

Keyword

Whole body bone scan; Missed injuries; Multiple trauma

MeSH Terms

Ankle
Demography
Fractures, Multiple
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Multiple Trauma*
Physical Examination
Ribs
Skull
Sternum
Tertiary Care Centers
Tibia