Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Aug 1;9(8):5092-5097.
doi: 10.19082/5092. eCollection 2017 Aug.

Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in upper and lower extremity long bone fractures of emergency department trauma patients

Arash Frouzan  1 , Kambiz Masoumi  1 , Ali Delirroyfard  1 , Behnaz Mazdaie  1 , Elnaz Bagherzadegan  1
Affiliations

Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in upper and lower extremity long bone fractures of emergency department trauma patients

Arash Frouzan et al. Electron Physician. .

Abstract

Background: Long bone fractures are common injuries caused by trauma. Some studies have demonstrated that ultrasound has a high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of upper and lower extremity long bone fractures.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of ultrasound compared with plain radiography in diagnosis of upper and lower extremity long bone fractures in traumatic patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed 100 patients admitted to the emergency department of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran with trauma to the upper and lower extremities, from September 2014 through October 2015. In all patients, first ultrasound and then standard plain radiography for the upper and lower limb was performed. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 to determine the specificity and sensitivity.

Results: The mean age of patients with upper and lower limb trauma were 31.43±12.32 years and 29.63±5.89 years, respectively. Radius fracture was the most frequent compared to other fractures (27%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value, and negative predicted value of ultrasound compared with plain radiography in the diagnosis of upper extremity long bones were 95.3%, 87.7%, 87.2% and 96.2%, respectively, and the highest accuracy was observed in left arm fractures (100%). Tibia and fibula fractures were the most frequent types compared to other fractures (89.2%). Sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of ultrasound compared with plain radiography in the diagnosis of upper extremity long bone fractures were 98.6%, 83%, 65.4% and 87.1%, respectively, and the highest accuracy was observed in men, lower ages and femoral fractures.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that ultrasound compared with plain radiography has a high accuracy in the diagnosis of upper and lower extremity long bone fractures.

Keywords: Long Bone Fractures; Lower Extremity; Plain Radiography; Ultrasound; Upper Extremity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of interest to be declared.

References

    1. Smith GS, Barss PG. Unintentional injuries in developing countries: the epidemiology of a neglected problem. Epidemiol Rev. 1991;13:228–66. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036070. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Murray CJ, Lopez AD. Mortality by cause for eight regions of the world: Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet. 1997;349(9061):1269–76. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07493-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leigh J, Macaskill P, Kuosma E, Mandryk J. Global burden of disease and injury due to occupational factors. Epidemiology. 1999;10(5):626–31. - PubMed
    1. Green DP, Rockwood CA, Bucholz RW, Heckman JD, Tornetta P. Rockwood and Green’s Fractures in Adults. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2010.
    1. Forouzanfar MH, Sepanlou SG, Shahraz S, Dicker D, Naghavi P, Pourmalek F, et al. Evaluating causes of death and morbidity in Iran, global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors study 2010. Arch Iran Med. 2014;17(5):304–20. 0141705/AIM.004. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources