U-shaped sacral fracture: an easily missed fracture with high morbidity. A report of two cases

U-shaped sacral fracture is a very rare injury. This injury is easily missed and the diagnosis is often delayed as it is difficult to detect on the anteroposterior view of the pelvic radiograph. It is highly unstable and neurological injury is common. Two cases of U-shaped sacral fractures are repor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEmergency medicine journal : EMJ Vol. 26; no. 9; pp. 677 - 678
Main Authors Hussin, P, Chan, C Y W, Saw, L B, Kwan, M K
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01.09.2009
Subjects
Adult
Child
Diagnostic Errors
Fecal Incontinence - etiology
Female
Fractures
Humans
Injuries
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurology
Pain
Polyradiculopathy - diagnosis
Polyradiculopathy - etiology
Sacrum - injuries
Spinal Fractures - diagnosis
Tomography
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Trauma
Urinary Incontinence - etiology
Urine
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Summary:U-shaped sacral fracture is a very rare injury. This injury is easily missed and the diagnosis is often delayed as it is difficult to detect on the anteroposterior view of the pelvic radiograph. It is highly unstable and neurological injury is common. Two cases of U-shaped sacral fractures are reported here in which the diagnosis was delayed resulting in the late development of cauda equina syndrome. In these two cases, full recoveries were achieved following surgical decompression. A high index of suspicion with proper clinical and radiographic assessments will decrease the incidence of missed diagnosis and prevent the occurrence of delayed neurological deficits.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-4
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ObjectType-Report-1
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ISSN:1472-0205
1472-0213
DOI:10.1136/emj.2008.064972