Cerebral fat embolism syndrome after long bone fracture due to traffic accident: a case report

Abstract

Cerebral fat embolism syndrome (CFES) is an uncommon but serious complication of long bone fracture. We reported a 19-year-old male patient who sustained CFES due to multiple limbs long bone fractures after a traffic accident injury. He gradually developed into coma within 24 h after his injury. The arterial blood gas analyses were normal. There was a small amount of gas in the right pleural cavity on the thoracic computed tomography (CT). Although there were no remarkable intracranial abnormalities on the initial brain CT findings, the typical brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the starfield pattern and scattered foci were observed. Both T2-weighted imaging and diffusion weighted imaging of MRI indicated multiple scattered lesions in the bilateral cerebrum hemisphere white matter, grey matter, basal ganglia, corpus callosum and thalamus indicative of acute infarcts without microbleeding on the susceptibilityweighted imaging sequences. With the above findings, the diagnosis of the case was cerebral fat embolism syndrome. Although the patient was treated with comprehensive support in the intensive care unit, he remained unconscious and was discharged after 7 days of hospitalization.