Radiology Review

Unrestrained Passenger Injured in Car Accident

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A 19-year-old man is transferred to your facility for injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle collision. He was an unrestrained passenger in a vehicle that went out of control and left the road. At the outside facility, he was found to have a chest injury and a pneumothorax, resulting in his transfer for tertiary level care. On arrival, he is complaining of some chest wall pain, but also states that his hips—especially the left one—are causing quite a bit of discomfort. His medical history is unremarkable except for sickle cell trait. Primary survey reveals stable vital signs and no obvious injury. On closer examination, with stress on his pelvis, he does complain of localized pain on the left side. Radiograph of the pelvis is obtained. What is your impression?


 

ANSWER
There is a cortical irregularity at the medial margin of the left iliac bone at the level of the acetabulum, strongly suggestive of a fracture. In addition, there may be a nondisplaced fracture within the superior/inferior rami on the left.

CT was recommended to further define these areas (and was already pending to evaluate the patient’s abdomen). Fortunately, there were no fractures within the hip joint, just the nondisplaced rami fracture.

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