Outcomes of chest wall fixation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation-induced flail chest.

Chest wall injury is a common complication of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Chest wall fixation of flail chest has been shown to improve outcomes in patients in whom trauma is the primary pathology. Its efficacy in the post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation setting where the primary event is cardiac arrest is yet to be determined. We report outcomes in a series of 4 patients who underwent rib fixation in the setting of cardiopulmonary resuscitation-induced flail chest.