ABSTRACT
Floating knee injuries pose major challenges in management. There is little information on the patterns of these injuries and the challenges of managing them in our setting. Patients with floating knee injuries who were seen and treated over a 5-year period at our center were retrospectively reviewed. The patterns of the injuries, associated injuries, methods of management and factors that influenced the outcome were analyzed. Twenty-five patients, consisting of 19 males and 6 females with a mean age of 33.4 ± 16.04 years, satisfied the study criteria. All were caused by road traffic injuries, motor cycle crashes accounting for 19 (76%). Twenty-two (88%) injuries were Blake and McBryde type 1, while 3 (12%) were of type 2A. Thirty-two percent of the patients had surgical fixation of both fractures, while 40% of the patients had both fractures managed non-operatively. Non-operative management strongly correlated with development of malunion. The results of management of floating injuries in our setting are not satisfactory. Orthopedic and trauma care should be made accessible to those requiring it.
Subject(s)
Developing Countries , Femoral Fractures/surgery , Fractures, Open/surgery , Knee Injuries/surgery , Multiple Trauma/surgery , Tibial Fractures/surgery , Accidents, Traffic , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Female , Femoral Fractures/therapy , Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods , Fractures, Open/therapy , Humans , Injury Severity Score , Knee Injuries/therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Multiple Trauma/therapy , Nigeria , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Tibial Fractures/therapy , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Femoral shaft fractures are common injuries in childhood. There is paucity of information on their presentation and outcome of the available treatment methods in the African population. This study evaluated the outcome of non-operative methods of treatment of femoral shaft fractures in our centre. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the database of children aged 14 years and below with femoral shaft fractures treated non-operatively over a 10-year period. RESULTS: A total of 134 patients with 138 fractures met the study criteria. This consisted of 71 boys (mean age = 6.1 years ± SD) and 63 girls (mean age = 6.5 years ± SD). Pedestrian vehicular accident was the most common cause of femoral shaft fractures in the study population. The midshaft was the most common site of fractures. There were associated injuries to other parts of the body (especially head injury) in 34.3% of the patients. The commonest mode of treatment was skin traction only (87.7%). The mean time to fracture union was 4.9 weeks ± SD (range = 3-15 weeks). The mean length of hospitalisation was 6.7 weeks ± SD (range = 5 days-11 weeks). There was a fairly strong positive correlation between the length of hospitalisation and the presence of associated injuries, especially head injury, upper limb fractures and bilaterality of the fractures. The mean total cost of treatment was #7685 (Naira) or $51.2 (range = $14.2-$190). At the last follow up, 97.8% of the fractures united without significant angulation or shortening. CONCLUSION: The outcome of non-operative treatment of femoral shaft fractures in our setting is comparable to the results of other workers. Methods of treatment that shorten the length of hospitalisation without unduly increasing cost should be encouraged.
Subject(s)
Femoral Fractures/therapy , Fracture Healing , Traction/methods , Adolescent , Age Distribution , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hospitals, Teaching , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Length of Stay , Male , Nigeria , Retrospective Studies , Socioeconomic Factors , Time Factors , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Background: Femoral shaft fractures are common injuries in childhood. There is paucity of information on their presentation and outcome of the available treatment methods in the African population. This study evaluated the outcome of non-operative methods of treatment of femoral shaft fractures in our centre. Patients and Methods: A retrospective review of the database of children aged 14 years and below with femoral shaft fractures treated non-operatively over a 10-year period. Results: A total of 134 patients with 138 fractures met the study criteria. This consisted of 71 boys (mean age = 6.1 years ± SD) and 63 girls (mean age = 6.5 years ± SD). Pedestrian vehicular accident was the most common cause of femoral shaft fractures in the study population. The midshaft was the most common site of fractures. There were associated injuries to other parts of the body (especially head injury) in 34.3% of the patients. The commonest mode of treatment was skin traction only (87.7%). The mean time to fracture union was 4.9 weeks ± SD (range = 3-15 weeks). The mean length of hospitalisation was 6.7 weeks ± SD (range = 5 days-11 weeks). There was a fairly strong positive correlation between the length of hospitalisation and the presence of associated injuries, especially head injury, upper limb fractures and bilaterality of the fractures. The mean total cost of treatment was #7685 (Naira) or $51.2 (range = $14.2-$190). At the last follow up, 97.8% of the fractures united without significant angulation or shortening. Conclusion: The outcome of non-operative treatment of femoral shaft fractures in our setting is comparable to the results of other workers. Methods of treatment that shorten the length of hospitalisation without unduly increasing cost should be encouraged
