Comprise up to 10% of admissions to trauma services.
Patients 65 years or older with more than four rib fractures demonstrated increased morbidity and mortality when compared with those aged 15 to 64.
Chest x-rays have a poor sensitivity for the detection of cough-induced rib fractures with 33% of fractures being missed.
With cough induced rib fractures usually 1-2 ribs are affected, often at the lateral aspect of the rib cage, and ribs 5 to 9 seem especially vulnerable: particularly rib number six.