Ultrasound diagnosis of fractures in mass casualty incidents

Figure 2 Point-of-care ultrasound of a 42-year-old laborer who fell from 8 meters high during work. The patient presented with pain, swelling and deformity of the left arm. He had left wrist drop. B mode point-of-care ultrasound of the humeral shaft using a linear probe having a frequency of 10-12 MHz (A) showed that the white cortical line of the humeral shaft (yellow arrows) has been interrupted by a large gap (red arrow) suggesting a displaced fracture at the shaft. X-ray of the humerus (B) confirmed the presence of a displaced fracture (white arrow). S: Sonographic shadow of the humeral shaft; H: Hematoma at the edge of the fracture. Ultrasound study was performed by Professor Fikri Abu-Zidan, Department of Surgery, Al-Ain Hospital, Al-Ain, UAE.