Variabilidad en el desplazamiento de las fracturas de clavícula según la posición del paciente en la evaluación radiográfica

background: the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of patient's positioning for x-rays on the degree of clavicle fractures displacement. methods: an observational prospective study was done with 54 patients presenting with clavicle fractures, admitted to our hospital's emergency room in 2009 and 2010. x-rays were taken in decubitus position and standing, comparing the various degrees of horizontal and vertical displacement in both views. results: regarding vertical displacement, in 46.29% of the cases the displacement changed from less than 20mm in decubitus to over 20mm in the standing position. as for horizontal displacement, the same change was seen in 18.51% of the cases. in 50% of the cases (27 patients) the displacement was greater than 20mm when the position changed. conclusions: in our study, 50% of the patients who had a displacement smaller than 20mm in decubitus, exhibited one greater than 20mm in the standing position, confirming our hypothesis that the degree of clavicle fracture displacement varies with the position in which x-rays are taken.