Fat embolism syndrome.
Twenty cases of clinically patent fat embolism syndrome (FES) were observed at the authors' institution between 1964 and 1989. There were 4 deaths (20%). The injury severity score (ISS) was computed for each patient upon admission and ranged from 9 to 50 (median, 17). The ISS was significantly higher in the 4 deceased patients (P = .014). The incidence of FES amounted to 0.26% of all patients hospitalized with at-risk fractures (femoral and tibial shaft fractures and pelvic fractures). The findings of the 25-year study indicate the following: (1) clinically patent postfracture FES is rare; (2) FES is significantly more frequent in patients with several at-risk fractures than in those with one at-risk fracture (P < .0003); and (3) prognosis appears to be more directly related to ISS than to FES itself.
Robert
J H
JH
Orthopaedic Clinic, Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire, de Geneva, Switzerland.
Hoffmeyer
P
P
Broquet
P E
PE
Cerutti
P
P
Vasey
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004620:Embolism, Fat / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D002542:Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000145:classification; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies