Abstract
Patients over the age of 65 years admitted to hospital with more than six rib fractures have a mortality rate as high as 38%. Of the survivors, 34% are likely to be admitted to an aged care facility. High-quality analgesia is paramount to the mitigation of rib fracture–associated morbidity and mortality. We report a series of ten consecutive patients over the age of 65 years with more than eight fractured ribs. All patients were managed with a novel chest wall block. There were no deaths, and only one patient was discharged into an aged care facility.
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