Clinical value of high frequency ultrasound in diagnosis of rib fracture

Objective To assess the clinical value of high frequency ultrasound in the diagnosis of rib fracture.Methods 63 patients with rib fracture were examined with 10.0 MHz of the high frequency ultrasound,48 of whom were already diagnosed with the chest plain film explicitly but were highly doubted of rib fracture and 15 suspicious cases were not diagnosed by the chest plain film explicitly.Results 59 points of rib fracture were detected and 33 points were missed by the chest plain film in 92 points(63 cases).Of 33 missed diagnoses,22 points were situated in the foreribs.3 points of rib fracture(2 cases)that were already diagnosed by the chest plain film explicitly could not be detected by the high frequency ultrasound because of subcutaneous emphysema or skin wound.Conclusions The high frequency ultrasound has very important clinical value in the diagnosis of the rib fracture,and can obviously improve the diagnosis coincidence rate when combined with chest plain film.