SynthesisArchives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery2023
Rib fractures in the elderly population: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical outcome analysis for surgical fixation versus conservative treatment on rib fractures: a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2025Pooled it
- The 2023 WSES guidelines on the management of trauma in elderly and frail patients.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2024Guideline
- Thoracic injuries in elderly trauma patients epidemiology, injury characteristics, in-hospital care and outcome.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Effect of management in intermediate care unit versus conventional hospitalization on long-term mortality and autonomy in patients with rib fractures aged 75 years and older: a retrospective study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026Observational
- Revised cardiac risk index and adverse outcomes in patients undergoing surgical stabilization of rib fractures.BMC surgery · 2026Article
- The impact of injury severity and age on short-and long-term mortality and hospital length of stay after surgical stabilisation of rib fractures (SSRF): a German population-based propensity-score matched investigation.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2026Article
- Review
- Research on the correlation between rib fracture characteristics and the risk of intrathoracic and intra-abdominal injuries.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2025Observational
- Demographics, treatment, and outcomes of rib fractures in older adults: a retrospective multi-institutional study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Surgical stabilization of rib fractures improves survival in functionally dependent trauma patients.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2025Article
- Article
- Effect of respiratory training intervention on rehabilitation of patients with rib fracture: a meta-analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Article
- Clinical application of a novel rib fracture score system in patients with multiple rib fractures.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF): the WSES and CWIS position paper.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2024Review
- Doxycycline decelerates aging in progeria mice.Aging cell · 2024Article
- Non-operative vs. operative treatment for multiple rib fractures after blunt thoracic trauma: a multicenter prospective cohort study.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2023Observational
- Evaluation of surgical outcomes in elderly patients with rib fractures: A single-centre propensity score matching study.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Article
- The History of Surgical Stabilization of Rib Fractures (SSRF).Surgery in practice and science · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMultiple rib fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, especially in elderly patients. There is growing interest in surgical stabilization in this subgroup of patients. This systematic review compares conservative treatment to surgical fixation in elderly patients (older than 60 years) with multiple rib fractures. The primary outcome is mortality. Secondary outcomes include hospital and intensive care length of stay (HLOS and ILOS), duration of mechanical ventilation (DMV) and pneumonia rates.
methodsMultiple databases were searched for comparative studies reporting on conservative versus operative treatment for rib fractures in patients older than 60 years. Both observational studies and randomised clinical trials were considered.
resultsFive observational studies (n = 2583) were included. Mortality was lower in operatively treated patients compared to conservative treatment (4% vs. 8%). Pneumonia rate and DMV were similar (5/6% and 5.8/6.5 days) for either treatment modality. Overall ILOS and HLOS of stay were longer in operatively treated patients (6.5 ILOS and 12.7 HLOS vs. 2.7 ILOS and 6.5 ILOS). There were only minimal reports on perioperative complications. Notably, the median number of rib fractures (8.4 vs. 5) and the percentage of flail chest were higher in operatively treated patients (47% vs. 39%).
conclusionIt remains unknown to what extent conservative and operative treatment contribute individually to reducing morbidity and mortality in the elderly with multiple rib fractures. To date, the quality of evidence is rather low, thus well-performed comparative observational studies or randomised controlled trials considering all confounders are needed to determine whether operative treatment can improve a patient's outcome.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.