Problems of Fat Embolism in Traumatology and Orthopaedics

Fat embolism (FA) - multiple occlusion of blood vessels by fat droplets - is one of the severe complications of early traumatic illness. According to different authors, it accompanies 60-85% of skeletal injuries with traumatic shock and is the leading cause of death in 1-15% of cases. It is also noteworthy that after so many intramedullary osteosynthesis operations, 0.5% of deaths are caused by this syndrome. During the Great Patriotic War, PE was reported in 10% of all wounded and in 7-10% of the wounded with gunshot fractures of bones. Unfortunately, PE is rarely diagnosed while alive, in only 1-2.2% of cases. The condition is often misdiagnosed as traumatic brain injury, pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome ('shock lung').