Sternal fractures are (almost) only caused by resuscitation, right? And in children?

Fractures of the sternum are rare compared to other bone fractures. Especially in children, sternal fractures are rarely diagnosed and represent only a small percentage of the total number of sternal fractures. In the case of a 10-year-old boy, he presented to the pediatrician with constant breathing-related pain in the chest region and similar complaints had already existed 1 week ago. The sonographic examination revealed a suspected fracture of the sternum, which was confirmed by a subsequent X-ray examination. After discussing the findings the mother stated that the pain first occurred after the 12-year-old cousin had hit the sternum of her son with his knee. The question of the plausibility of the claimed injury mechanism was raised. Against the background of the described case, an overview of epidemiological data, underlying injury mechanisms and anatomical peculiarities of isolated sternal fractures in childhood is given, with reference to the current literature. It could be shown that isolated sternal fractures can occur during age-typical playing activities. In the overall view, the plausibility of the stated injury mechanism could therefore be confirmed in the presented case.