eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Trauma & Orthopedics

Fracture, Scapular: Follow-up

Author: Joseph C Schmidt, MD, Assistant Professor, Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baystate Medical Center
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Sep 2, 2009

Follow-up

Transfer

  • Transfer the patient with a scapular fracture when evaluation or treatment of associated injuries or surgical repair of the fracture is necessary and when neither is available at the initial institution.

Deterrence/Prevention

  • Enforcement of traffic safety laws and injury prevention education are the two most productive measures for reducing scapular fractures.

Complications

  • After associated injuries are excluded, the most common complication of an isolated scapular fracture is posttraumatic arthritis or bursitis.

Prognosis

  • If no significant associated injury exists, the prognosis for complete or near complete recovery is excellent.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Missed diagnosis
  • Failure to consider associated injuries
 


More on Fracture, Scapular

Overview: Fracture, Scapular
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Fracture, Scapular
Treatment & Medication: Fracture, Scapular
Follow-up: Fracture, Scapular
Multimedia: Fracture, Scapular
References

References

  1. Zlowodzki M, Bhandari M, Zelle BA, Kregor PJ, Cole PA. Treatment of scapula fractures: systematic review of 520 fractures in 22 case series. J Orthop Trauma. Mar 2006;20(3):230-3. [Medline].

  2. Stephens NG, Morgan AS, Corvo P, Bernstein BA. Significance of scapular fracture in the blunt-trauma patient. Ann Emerg Med. Oct 1995;26(4):439-42. [Medline].

  3. Baldwin KD, Ohman-Strickland P, Mehta S, Hume E. Scapula fractures: a marker for concomitant injury? A retrospective review of data in the National Trauma Database. J Trauma. Aug 2008;65(2):430-5. [Medline].

  4. McAdams TR, Blevins FT, Martin TP, DeCoster TA. The role of plain films and computed tomography in the evaluation of scapular neck fractures. J Orthop Trauma. Jan 2002;16(1):7-11. [Medline].

  5. Bartonicek J, Tucek M, Fric V. [Radiographic evaluation of scapula fractures]. Rozhl Chir. Feb 2009;88(2):84-8. [Medline].

  6. Hart RG, Rittenberry TJ, Uehara DT. Handbook of Orthopaedic Emergencies. Lippincott-Raven; 1999:149-55.

  7. Rosen P, Barkin R. Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. Mosby Year Book; 2002:584-586.

  8. Simon R, Koenigcknecht S. Emergency Orthopedics: The Extremities. Appleton and Lange; 1995:207-15.

  9. Tintinelli J, Ruiz E, Krome R. Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. McGraw-Hill; 2000:1784-1787.

  10. Veysi VT, Mittal R, Agarwal S, Dosani A, Giannoudis PV. Multiple trauma and scapula fractures: so what?. J Trauma. Dec 2003;55(6):1145-7. [Medline].

Further Reading

Keywords

scapula, scapular fractures, acromion injuries, scapular neck fractures, glenoid rim fractures, glenoid fracture, stellate glenoid fractures, coracoid process fractures, coracoid fracture, shoulder girdle injuries

Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Joseph C Schmidt, MD, Assistant Professor, Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baystate Medical Center
Joseph C Schmidt, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Michelle Ervin, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Howard University Hospital
Michelle Ervin, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, National Medical Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

David B Levy, DO, FACEP, FAAEM, Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, St Elizabeth Health Center; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
David B Levy, DO, FACEP, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American Medical Informatics Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

 
 
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