Aortic Laceration From Posterior Rib Fractures After a Ground-Level Fall: A Case Report

Background

Rib fractures represent a common injury after blunt chest wall trauma with known complications including pneumothorax, hemothorax, pulmonary contusion, and pneumonia. This case report describes an emergency department patient with acute decompensation from aortic laceration as a rare complication of rib fractures. There are rare documented cases of this complication occurring in admitted patients with rib fractures, but this is one of the only cases that describes this complication occurring in a patient presenting to the emergency department.

Case Report

This case describes a patient who was found down at her home and presented to the emergency department in acute distress. She was found to have three left-sided posterior rib fractures, which had lacerated her thoracic aorta causing a large left hemothorax and acute decompensation. The patient was resuscitated in the emergency department followed by thoracic endovascular aortic repair in the operating room. The patient did well after surgical repair and was discharged from the hospital at her baseline mental and functional status.

Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?

It remains important to resuscitate an acutely ill patient based on history, physical examination, and vital signs. The key takeaway from this case report is that, although rare, aortic laceration remains a possible complication of posterior rib fractures in a patient who acutely decompensates.