II. Pathophysiology
- High velocity Traumatic Injury (e.g. MVA with Lap belt only)
- Causes flexion and distraction of the thoracolumbar spine
- Unstable, transverse Fracture through the anterior, middle and posterior Vertebral body
III. Associated Conditions
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Traumatic Aortic Disruption
- Liver Laceration
- Splenic Rupture
- Mesentary or Small Bowel injury (if Seat Belt Sign present)
IV. Signs
- Point tenderness over thoracolumbar Vertebrae (L1 region)
- Seat Belt Sign
V. Management
- Spine Surgery is typically required
VI. Resources
- Chance Fracture (Radiopedia)
VII. References
- Herbert, Orman and Hollander in Herbert (2018) EM:Rap 18(4): 13
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Related Studies
Concepts | Injury or Poisoning (T037) |
SnomedCT | 473438000 |
English | Chance flexion distraction fracture of vertebra (disorder), Chance fracture of vertebra, Chance flexion distraction fracture of vertebra, Chance fracture, Seat belt fracture |
Spanish | fractura por flexión-distracción de vértebra de Chance (trastorno), fractura vertebral de Chance, fractura por flexión-distracción de vértebra de Chance, Fractura por el cinturón de seguridad, Fractura de Chance |
Czech | Seat belt poranění, Chanceho zlomenina |
Dutch | chance fractuur, fractuur door autogordel |
French | Fracture liée à la ceinture de sécurité, Fracture de Chance |
German | Chance-Fraktur, Sitzgurt-Fraktur |
Hungarian | Chance-féle törés, Biztonsági öv által okozott törés |
Italian | Frattura da cintura di sicurezza, Frattura di Chance |
Japanese | シートベルト骨折, チャンスコッセツ, シートベルトコッセツ, チャンス骨折 |
Portuguese | Fractura do cinto de segurança, Fractura de Chance |