RespiratoryFlail Chest & Rib Fx

Pathophysiology

Signs & Symptoms:

Deadly Complications

Interventions

• Broken ribs typically result after any major trauma: Car accident, falls & the like.

• Flail chest: a segment of the rib cage completely breaks & becomes detached from the rest of the chest wall, a life-threatening medical emergency.

• Paradoxical chest wall movement (key sign) The ribs sort of sucks INward during inspiration & floats out during expiration

• Extreme chest pain • Shallow respirations

• High risk for infection Pneumonia is very common • Hypercapnic respiratory failure from High CO2 retention, putting the body in an acidotic state.

1. Priority = Pain Control

2. Pulmonary hygiene only AFTERPain is controlled

YES - Administer prescribedOpioids

Morphine

TCDB - Turn, cough, deepbreathing IS - Incentive Spirometerto re - expand the lungs& preventing atelectasis

Hydromorphone Hydrocodone

FFUNKY CHEST

WALL MOVEMENT

FFLAIL CHEST

Memory Trick:

1st PRIORITY

Paradoxicalchest wallmovement