Keywords:
Paediatric, Musculoskeletal bone, Forensic / Necropsy studies, CT, Medico-legal issues, Forensics, Pathology, Trauma
Authors:
A. Paterson, P. Ingram, C. Thornton; Belfast/UK
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2011/C-1587
Purpose
It is well recognised that acute rib fractures are easily missed on chest radiographs,
but that those which are healing are more easily detected.
Accepted UK policy for imaging in suspected non-accidental injury (NAI) includes follow-up 3-view chest radiographs two weeks after the initial skeletal survey,
to aid detection of any rib fractures.
If follow-up radiographs are not obtained,
for example in infants who present to the hospital already dead or who die in the two week interval period following an initial skeletal survey,
then there is a risk,
that rib fractures may be missed and NAI may go undetected.
The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of children who have rib fractures,
which are diagnosed on CT examinations,
but are missed on a skeletal survey performed at the same time.