Posterior fat pad sign (elbow)
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At the time the article was created Mohammed Al Khader.O.Thabet had no recorded disclosures.
View Mohammed Al Khader.O.Thabet's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Hasan Emin Kaya had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Hasan Emin Kaya's current disclosures- Posterior fat pad signs (elbow)
The posterior fat pad sign is the visualization of a lucent crescent of fat located in the olecranon fossa on a true lateral view of an elbow joint with the elbow flexed at a right angle indicating an elbow joint effusion1. Normally, the posterior fat pad will not be seen in this view 2.
In the setting of trauma, it suggests an occult non-displaced fracture. In children, it most often indicates a supracondylar fracture, other common fractures are those of the proximal ulna, lateral condyle, and radial neck 3. In adults, look for a radial head fracture4.
See also
References
- 1. Goswami GK. The fat pad sign. Radiology. 2002;222 (2): 419-20. doi:10.1148/radiol.2222000365 - Pubmed citation
- 2. B.J. Manaster, David A. May, David G. Disler, Chapter 6 - Elbow, Editor(s): B.J. Manaster, David A. May, David G. Disler, In The Requisites, Musculoskeletal Imaging (Fourth Edition), W.B. Saunders, 2013, Page 97, ISBN 9780323081771. Google Books
- 3. Skaggs D & Mirzayan R. The Posterior Fat Pad Sign in Association with Occult Fracture of the Elbow in Children*†. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 1999;81(10):1429-33. doi:10.2106/00004623-199910000-00007 - Pubmed
- 4. B.J. Manaster, David A. May, David G. Disler, Chapter 6 - Elbow, Editor(s): B.J. Manaster, David A. May, David G. Disler, In The Requisites, Musculoskeletal Imaging (Fourth Edition), W.B. Saunders, 2013, Page 105, ISBN 9780323081771. Google Books
Incoming Links
- Radial head fracture
- Sail sign (elbow)
- Fracture
- Von Laer classification of pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures
- Supracondylar humeral fracture
- Elbow radiograph (summary approach)
- Proximal radial fracture (summary)
- Elbow (lateral view)
- Elbow radiograph (an approach)
- Elbow joint effusion
- Paediatric elbow radiograph (an approach)
- Radial head fracture
- Supracondylar fracture
- Supracondylar fracture of the humerus
- Radial head fracture and posterior fat pad sign
- Olecranon fracture
- Radial head fracture
- Pediatric supracondylar fracture
- Radial head fracture
- Radial head and coronoid process fractures
- Supracondylar fracture
- Supracondylar fracture - Gartland type I
- Subtle supracondylar fracture - Gartland type I
- Radial head dislocation with ulnar bowing
- Supracondylar fracture - Gartland type II
- Supracondylar fracture
- Supracondylar fracture - Gartland type I
- Radial head fracture
- Elbow joint effusion - fat pad sign
- Radial neck buckle fracture
- Anterior humeral line