Traumatic Arthrotomy with Pneumarthrosis on Plain Radiograph of the Knee
An eight-year-old boy presented to the emergency department (ED) with a 2cm-long laceration over the prepatellar region of his left knee after falling over and cutting his knee on broken glass. Physical examination demonstrated the laceration breached the dermis but otherwise there was no obvio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2016-03-01
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| Series: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0vk6m5sp |
| Summary: | An eight-year-old boy presented to the emergency
department (ED) with a 2cm-long laceration over the
prepatellar region of his left knee after falling over and
cutting his knee on broken glass. Physical examination
demonstrated the laceration breached the dermis but
otherwise there was no obvious defect in the deep fascial
layer. He had a free range of motion of his knee and
clinically his extensor mechanism was intact; however, a
plain lateral radiograph showed that he had pneumarthrosis
of his knee joint. Within six hours of injury the wound
was formally explored in the operating room and a small
breach in the knee capsule was found. The wound edges
were debrided, the knee joint irrigated and the skin closed
primarily. Following surgery he received 24 hours of
antibiotic coverage with a first-generation cephalosporin. |
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| ISSN: | 1936-900X 1936-9018 |