Midterm results of rib fixation surgery for patients with thoracic trauma

Objective: To assess mid-term outcomes of rib fixation surgery using screws in patients with thoracic trauma. Subjects: This study included 164 patients with thoracic trauma across three hospitals: Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital, and Cho Ray Hospital. Methods: A non-randomized multicenter clinical trial was conducted. Results: The majority of the patients (75.6%) were male. Traffic accidents were the primary cause of injury, accounting for 65.9% of cases. One-month post-surgery, the intervention group's average VAS score was 0.83, compared to 1.47 in the control group (P < 0.05). At three months, hemothorax complications were observed in 3.1% of the control group, while only one patient (1.6%) in the intervention group experienced pulmonary embolism, although this difference was not statistically significant. The intervention group's average quality of life score increased from 0.7 points after one month to 0.95 points after three months. In contrast, the scores of the control group's scores were 0.62 points after one month and 0.77 points after three months (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Rib fixation with screws is effective in mid-term outcomes by reducing complications, enhancing quality of life, and providing effective pain relief in patients with thoracic trauma.