Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of rib fractures relying on the chest radiograph diagnosis often leads to misdiagnosis.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application of dual-source CT with three-dimensional reconstruction in rib fractures.
METHODS: Sixty-five patients with rib fractures were scanned with dual-source CT. The data were sent to the workstation line of multi-planar reconstruction using volume rendering technique, to obtain high-resolution three-dimensional images of rib fractures, and to observe the fracture line courses, fracture displacement and angulation of the situation from different angles.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The combination of dual-source CT and three-dimensional reconstruction images clearly showed 286 fractures in 65 patients, including 52 cases of conservative treatment, and the remaining 13 cases of surgery. The surgery programs in all patients were developed with reference to three-dimensional reconstruction images showing the fracture position, displacement, angulation, etc., consistent with the intraoperative findings. Dual-source CT can confirm the diagnosis of rib fractures, and multi-planar reconstruction and volume rendering techniques complement each other in the diagnosis and guiding treatment of rib fractures which have a distinct advantage.