Paediatric Trauma Flashcards
Risk factors for paediatric fractures?
Boys > girls (60:40%)
Age
Previous fractures
Metabolic bone disease
Season- usually summertime because off school, longer periods of day light
Why does childrens bone heal quicker than adults?
Good blood supply
Lot more cellular, less mineral content
Children don’t smoke
->because of this quick healing, fixation of fractures is not usually required
Complete fractures tend to occur more in adults. Which three types of fracture are only seen in children?
Greenstick fracture
Buckle fracture
Plastic deformation
Greenstick fracture?
Bone cracks on one side and not all the way through
->like snapping a twig where is kind of bends and doesn’t fully snap
Greenstick fractures tend to re-displace but only when?
All forces on them are taken off
Buckle fracture?
Usually due to longitudinal compression
What is seen on x-ray of a buckle fracture?
Slight concavity of the bone where the cortex has been compressed
Management of buckle fracture?
Simple splintage for a short period of time
Where are plastic deformability’s most commonly seen?
Forearm
What happens in plastic deformaility?
Bones have been caught between something and a force applied as a child falls meaning a sequence of small cracks along the bone causing it to bend
->e.g. if bones are caught between rungs of a ladder and then the child falls down the ladder
Plastic deformity injuries are rare.
What characteristics do we need to be aware of?
-Bone won’t tend to remodel as periosteum is disrupted
-Points at top and bottom of bone can dislocate and bend of the bone now encourages dislocation
Do most fractures in children require conservative or operative management?
95% of fractures only require conservative management
List some of the conservative treatment measures for paediatric fractures.
Casts
Braces
Splints
Traction
What are the two groups of operations for paed fractures?
Internal or external fixation
Why do the majority of children’s fracture require simple treatment?
They tend to remodel themselves
What type of bone growth occurs at the epiphyseal growth plate?
Longitudinal growth
What is one type of children’s fracture that will usually require intervention, usually traction?
Femoral fracture as if they are oblique or spiral, they tend to shorten down the muscle attached (hamstrings and quads)
Do children’s fractures usually require physio after the healing process?
Not usually, particularly in the upper limb
Elbow fractures will often require physio