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World J Crit Care Med. Dec 9, 2024; 13(4): 98579
Published online Dec 9, 2024. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v13.i4.98579
Subclavian vessels injury: An underestimated complication of clavicular fractures
Byron Chalidis, Vasileios Davitis, Pericles Papadopoulos, Charalampos Pitsilos
Byron Chalidis, First Orthopaedic Department, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 57010, Greece
Vasileios Davitis, Pericles Papadopoulos, Charalampos Pitsilos, Second Orthopaedic Department, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54635, Greece
Author contributions: Chalidis B and Pitsilos C designed the research; Pitsilos C and Davitis V analyzed the data; Chalidis B, Davitis V and Pitsilos C wrote the paper; Chalidis B and Papadopoulos P supervised the paper; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with any of the senior author or other coauthors contributed their efforts in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Byron Chalidis, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, First Orthopaedic Department, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, G Papanikolaou Hospital Exohi, Thessaloniki 57010, Greece. byronchalidis@gmail.com
Received: June 29, 2024
Revised: September 4, 2024
Accepted: September 9, 2024
Published online: December 9, 2024
Processing time: 123 Days and 12.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Clavicle fractures complicated by vascular injuries are rare and potentially life-threatening conditions. Diagnosis of subclavian vessel injuries might be substantially delayed due to the overshadowing presence of the more obvious fracture symptoms and pain. Sound knowledge of the anatomy, better understanding of the severity of injury and fracture pattern and thorough clinical examination are important to raise the suspicion of a vascular injury and optimize medical care. Clavicle fractures combined with subclavian vessel injuries that are associated with serious hemorrhage or limb ischemia should be addressed operatively to restore vascular continuity and upper limb function. Future research should aim at optimizing diagnostic protocols and exploring advanced therapeutic techniques to enhance patient care in these complex cases.