Sternal and thoracic spinal fractures: Case reports of two in one accident

Abstract

Two restrained back-seat taxi passengers suffered from sternal fracture as a result of head-on collision with another car. They were wearing shoulder-lap seat belts at the time of the collision. Both of them also complained of upper back pain one day after admission. Computed tomography of the thorax showed fracture of the thoracic spine in both of them. We performed literature search, analysing the mechanism of sternal fracture and its association with spinal fracture. A management guideline in the emergency department is proposed to handle this injury.