Effect of season on surgically treated pediatric supracondylar humeral fractures

الملخص EN

Objective:The objectives of this study were to examine the monthly rates of surgically treated pediatric supracondylar humeral fractures as a percent of total surgically treated pediatric supracondylar humeral fractures and to identify seasonality.

Method:This is a retrospective study done in the Orthopedics department in the Royal Medical Services in Jordan between Jan 2018 and Jan 2020, including patients with pediatric supracondylar humeral fractures and underwent surgical management.

Epidemiological and demographic data collection including the age, gender, dominant side, season, month, school vacation, fracture pattern, most common complications andsurgical pin configuration using Patient file Records and electronic radiography system archives for pre-operative, post-operative, and follow-up X-rays, data was statistically analyzed using SPSS (Ver.25).

Results:One-hundred-fifty-six patients were included in this study.

Most (87.2%) were right dominance patiwereents(12.8% left dominance patients).

We found two seasonal peaks: a higher summer peak in the school vacation time and a lower winter peak close to the time of the midterm school vacation.

Fractures were Gartland type II (41.7%) and type III (58.3%).

The pin tract infection rate was 7.7%, the cubitusvarus and cubitus valgus rates were 6.4% and 1.3%, respectively.

Pre-operative nerve deficit was detected in 7.1%.

Only one child had a post-operative Ulnar nerve injury.

Conclusion:Two peaks exist in this type of fracture.

The higher being in the summer season, which starts in the school vacation time and another lower peak in the winter season also in the school midterm vacation time.

We have also found that there is an insignificant increase in the percentage of severity between the fracture type II and III among seasonal peaks and other seasons.

However, some complications related to this type of injury were more common in these peaks.