Early detection of thoracic spine fracture in the multiple-trauma patient: Findings on the initial anteroposterior chest radiograph

In the unconscious, multiple-trauma patient, thoracic spine fractures may be initially overlooked due to a combination of immediate concern given to more obvious injuries and a failure to carefully scrutinize the initial, often anteroposterior (AP) and portable chest radiograph. In a recent review of their cases the authors retrospectively identified primary or secondary signs of thoracic spine fracture in 80% of the initial chest radiographs of multiple-trauma patients with this injury. This paper reviews these obvious and subtle, bony and soft-tissue AP chest radiograph signs of thoracic spine fracture and compare them with matching spine radiographs, tomography, and CT