Dyslipidemia and sternum fracture

Abstract

Tenderness over the sternum is a clue for possible sternal fracture. Sternal fractures usually occur at the body or manubrium. Lateral chest radiography could detect a sternum fracture, but the diagnosis is usually made by chest tomography. Traumatic sternum fracture considered as a marker of seriously life-threatening, high-energy injury. In hyperlipidemia, oxidized lipids accumulate in vascular tissues and trigger atherosclerosis. Such lipids also deposit in bone tissues where they may promote osteoporosis. In the literature, there is no previously reported traumatic sternal fracture due to hyperlipidemia-induced osteoporosis. Here, we report a case of a combined mixed type familial hyperlipidemia-induced osteoporosis in which the patient having seat belt on had an unexpected sternum fracture in a low-energy motor vehicle accident.