Rapid diagnosis of an ulnar fracture with portable hand-held ultrasound

Orthopedic fractures are a common injury in operational activities, which are injuries that often occur in isolated or hostile environments. Clinical ultrasound devices have become more user-friendly and lighter, allowing them to be easily transported with forward medical teams. The bone-soft tissue interface has a very large acoustic impedance with a high reflectance that can be used to visualize breaks in contour including fractures. Herein reported is a case of an ulnar fracture that was quickly visualized in the early phase of a multisystem trauma resuscitation with a hand-held ultrasound device. The implications for operational medicine are discussed.