THE ROLE OF SEAT-BELTS ON STERNUM FRACTURES

Twenty-three patients with sternum fracture were diagnosed among the trauma patients that were admitted to the Emergency Service of Ege University Medical School Hospital in 1995. In 21 of these, car accident was the main reason and 15 of these patients with sternum fracture were caused by seat belt. There were neither additional life threatened injuries nor related complications and the mean hospital stay was two days. Using seat belt is life saving. Contrary, it was observed that it rarely gives way to life threatening injuries.

STERNUM FRAKTÜRÜ OLUÞUMUNDA EMNÝYET KEMERÝNÝN ROLÜ

1995 yýlýnda Ege Üniversitesi Týp Fakültesi Hastanesi Acil Servisi'ne kabul edilen hastalar içinde 23 sternum fraktürlü olgu saptandý. Bunlarýn 21'inin trafik kazasý sonucu geliþtiði ve bu 21 hastadan 15'inde (%71) ise emniyet kemeri nedeniyle sternum fraktürü meydana geldiði saptandý. Bu hastalarda hayatý tehdit eden yandaþ yaralanmalarýn olmadýðý, ortalama hastanede kalýþ süresinin iki gün olduðu ve hepsinin komplikasyonsuz olarak taburcu edildikleri belirlendi. Emniyet kemerlerinin hayat kurtarýcý, buna karþýn sternum fraktürü gibi hayatý daha az tehdit edici bazý yaralanmalara neden olduðu gözlendi.