Milson N, Treger I, Vered M, Acker A, Kalichman L. Hospital-Based Rehabilitation of Patients Who Had Undergone an Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of the Ribs Due to a Flail Chest: Case Series.
Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;
19:16026. [PMID:
36498097 PMCID:
PMC9739889 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph192316026]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Flail chest, a severe chest injury, is caused by multiple rib fractures. The open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of rib fractures is an effective treatment; however, the patients' subsequent condition remains unsatisfactory in terms of the activities of daily living (ADL) and pain. No research study has, as yet, reported on hospital-based rehabilitation of patients who had undergone an ORIF. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of hospital-based rehabilitation of flail chest post-ORIF patients. Physical therapists assessed the pain, functional independence measure (FIM), and the Berg balance test. A total of three females and four males (mean age 59.43 ± 18.88) were hospitalized. A significant reduction in pain was observed (7.00 ± 1.83 upon admission to 4.10 ± 2.05 pre-discharge (Z = -2.07, p = 0.027). A significant improvement in FIM (69.43 ± 14.86 upon admission to 113.57 ± 6.40 pre-discharge, Z = -2.37, p = 0.018), and the Berg balance test (35.23 ± 5.87 upon admission to 49.50 ± 3.40 pre-discharge, Z = -2.37, p = 0.018), was observed. Upon admission, all the patients required moderate to complete ADL assistance. Upon discharge, all were independent for all ADL functions. Patients after flail chest post-ORIF can benefit from hospital-based rehabilitation.
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