PurposeRib fractures are the most common skeletal thoracic injuries resulting from blunt chest trauma. Half of the rib fractures are not detected upon a precise physical evaluation and radiographs. Recently ultrasonography (USG) has been investigated to detect rib fractures. But based on literature the usefulness of USG varies widely. This study was conducted to investigate the role of USG in the detection of possible rib fractures in comparison with radiography.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, consecutive patients with minor blunt chest trauma and suspected rib fractures presenting in Imam Reza Hospital located in Mashhad-Iran, between April 2013 and October 2013 were assessed by USG and radiography. The radiography was performed in a posteroanterior (PA) chest projection and oblique rib view centered over the area of trauma. The time duration spent in taking USG and radiography were recorded. The prevalence and location of fractures revealed by USG and radiography were compared.ResultsSixty-one suspected patients were assessed. The male to female ratio was 2.4:1 (43 men and 18 women) with a mean ± SD age of (44.3 ± 19.7) years. There were totally 59 rib fractures in 38 (62.3%) patients based on radiography and USG, while 23 (37.7%) patients had no diagnostic evidence of rib lesions. USG revealed 58 rib fractures in 33 (54.1%) of 61 suspected patients and radiographs revealed 32 rib fractures in 20 (32.8%) of 61 patients. A total of 58 (98.3%) rib fractures were detected by USG, whereas oblique rib view and PA chest radiography showed 27 (45.8%) and 24 (40.7%) rib fractures, respectively. The average duration of USG was (12 ± 3) min (range 7–17 min), whereas the duration of radiography was (27 ± 6) min (range 15–37 min). The kappa coefficient showed a low level of agreement between both USG and PA chest radiography (kappa coefficient = 0.28), and between USG and oblique rib view (kappa coefficient = 0.32).ConclusionUSG discloses more fractures than radiography in most patients presenting with suspected rib fractures. Moreover USG requires significantly less time than radiography.

The prevalence of gallstone disease in Iran is low. There was a positive correlation between prevalence of gallstone with age, BMI, diabetes mellitus and number of parity.

Objectives. The aim of this article is to represent the first reported case with cooccurrence of two rare alcohol related complications. Case Report. We report a 38-year-old man with chronic alcoholism who presented with both cranial and peripheral nerve palsy. On MRI examination characteristic findings of Marchiafava-Bignami disease were recognized. Discussion. Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is a rare complication of long-term, heavy alcohol abuse that has characteristic MRI findings. Acute alcohol related polyneuropathy (AARP) is another rare and not-well-understood complication of chronic alcohol abuse. We could not find any previous report of the cooccurrence of these two complications in the literature.

Bone involvement in hydatid disease is rare, and when it does occur, the most common sites of involvement are the spine and pelvis. A case of bone hydatid disease involving the sacrum is reported here.