We report the case of a 71-year-old male who initially presented with urosepsis and was found to have a rib fracture of his right 6th rib with a flail segment and an associated abscess. Given the concern for infection, surgical rib fixation with titanium plating was not pursued during the washout of his abscess and instead, he successfully underwent rib fracture stabilization with bilateral suture transfixation. He was continued on a prolonged course of antibiotics for Klebsiella pneumonia osteomyelitis and was discharged uneventfully with optimal pain control and adequate respiratory effort.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Patel et al. (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: