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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Fell And Broke Ribs And Fractured Pelvis, Resulting In Respiratory Failure. Could This Be Due To Septic Shock?

Is it possible that broken ribs could lead to septic shock . My mother fell in spain broke 3 ribs and fractured pelvis, in hospital for 4 weeks, first week or so was starting to improve then started to deteriorate, resulted in respiratory failure , was intribated and put into induced coma , then major organ failure then died, could this be due to lack of care in the early days after the injury?
Thu, 5 Sep 2013
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Orthopaedic Surgeon, Joint Replacement,  's  Response
Hi, thanks for writing to HCM.

Simple fractures of 3 ribs will not produce septic shock. I suspect that your mother could have developed DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and Hemorrhagic shock which are common complications of a fracture pelvis. The DVT might have resulted in pulmonary embolism leading to your mothers demise. Sepsis is also a common complication following pelvic fractures especially in elderly population.

So, there are numerous intrinsic mechanisms and factors that may cause mortality in bed ridden patients and one cannot attribute a single cause for the mortality in such cases.

Hope this information is helpful. Good day

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Fell And Broke Ribs And Fractured Pelvis, Resulting In Respiratory Failure. Could This Be Due To Septic Shock?

Hi, thanks for writing to HCM. Simple fractures of 3 ribs will not produce septic shock. I suspect that your mother could have developed DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and Hemorrhagic shock which are common complications of a fracture pelvis. The DVT might have resulted in pulmonary embolism leading to your mothers demise. Sepsis is also a common complication following pelvic fractures especially in elderly population. So, there are numerous intrinsic mechanisms and factors that may cause mortality in bed ridden patients and one cannot attribute a single cause for the mortality in such cases. Hope this information is helpful. Good day Hope this