title: Sternal insufficiency fractures of post-menopausal women: retrospective analysis of 17 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To retrospectively investigate the clinical characteristics of sternal insufficiency fractures (SIFs) of post-menopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Findings on the clinical presentation, associated diseases, and imaging of SIFs in 17 postmenopausal women admitted to our hospital between February 1999 and January 2009 were reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve patients complained of severe pain in their anterior chest. Other symptoms included cough (5 cases), dyspnoea (3 cases), breathlessness (3 cases), and wheeze (2 cases). Four patients had no discomfort. The sternums of 11 cases were tender to palpation. Seventeen patients had osteoporosis. Other associated diseases were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7 cases), rheumatoid arthritis (3 cases), systemic lupus erythematosus (1 case), asthma (1 case), and thoracic vertebral fracture (13 cases). Nine patients had received glucocorticoid treatment. The fractures were located in the body of the sternum in 15 patients, in the manubrium in 1 patient, and in the manubriosternal junction in 1 patient. Displaced fracture was present in 13 cases. Lateral radiography of the sternum showed a fracture line in 14 patients. In the remaining 3 cases, other imaging examinations such as bone scan, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the presence of a fracture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Osteoporosis, glucocorticoid therapy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and rheumatoid arthritis might be risk factors for SIFs. SIFs should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest pain.
authors: Department of Orthopaedics, Chenggong Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China.
authors: Zhe-yuan
authors: ZY
authors: Huang
authors: Bi-long
authors: BL
authors: Yi
authors: Hao-yuan
authors: HY
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015775:Fractures, Stress / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013249:Sternum / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids