Table 4. Characteristics of propensity matched patients with multiple rib fractures or flail chest separated by treatments.
| Characteristics | Multiple rib fractures | Flail chest | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operative (n=350) | Non-operative (n=350) | P | Operative (n=45) | Non-operative (n=45) | P | ||
| Gender, n (%) | 1.000 | 1.000 | |||||
| Male | 300 (85.7) | 300 (85.7) | 28 (62.2) | 28 (62.2) | |||
| Female | 50 (14.3) | 50 (14.3) | 17 (37.8) | 17 (37.8) | |||
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 51.3±9.8 | 50.7±9.4 | 0.409 | 54.2±9.5 | 52.9±9.7 | 0.523 | |
| Injury mechanism, n (%) | 0.815 | 0.788 | |||||
| High energy trauma | 218 (62.3) | 215 (61.4) | 37 (82.2) | 36 (80.0) | |||
| Other | 132 (37.7) | 135 (38.6) | 8 (17.8) | 9 (20.0) | |||
| Number of rib fractures (mean ± SD) | 6.2±1.7 | 6.1±1.8 | 0.450 | 7.8±3.1 | 7.5±2.4 | 0.609 | |
| Rib fracture patterns, n (%) | 0.447 | 0.642 | |||||
| Unilateral | 227 (64.9) | 241 (68.9) | 31 (68.9) | 33 (73.3) | |||
| Bilateral | 123 (35.1) | 109 (31.1) | 14 (31.1) | 12 (26.7) | |||
| Rib fracture locations, n (%) | 0.844 | 0.890 | |||||
| Upper | 63 (18.0) | 60 (17.1) | 6 (13.3) | 5 (11.1) | |||
| Middle | 241 (68.9) | 239 (68.3) | 36 (80.0) | 36 (80.0) | |||
| Lower | 46 (13.1) | 51 (14.6) | 3 (6.7) | 4 (8.9) | |||
| Concomitant injuries, n (%) | |||||||
| Pneumothorax | 196 (56.0) | 191 (54.6) | 0.704 | 29 (64.4) | 30 (66.7) | 0.824 | |
| Hemothorax | 93 (26.6) | 91 (26.0) | 0.864 | 14 (31.1) | 13 (28.9) | 0.818 | |
| Lung contusion | 200 (57.1) | 194 (55.4) | 0.648 | 28 (62.2) | 27 (60.0) | 0.829 | |
| Sternum fracture | 80 (22.9) | 82 (23.4) | 0.858 | 14 (31.1) | 13 (28.9) | 0.818 | |
| Injury severity score (mean ± SD) | 25.7±9.3 | 25.2±8.6 | 0.461 | 31.8±9.1 | 29.7±9.3 | 0.282 | |
Categorical data are presented as number and percent; continuous data are presented as mean ± SD. SD, standard deviation.