Efficacy, pain, and overall patient satisfaction with pediatric upper arm fracture reduction in the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION

Immediate closed reduction and cast immobilization performed under sedation in the emergency room is the mainstay management for most isolated displaced or angulated upper limb fractures in children. We aimed to determine if this approach is safe, effective and if patients, parents and staff are satisfied with this approach.Our working hypothesis was this management provides a high satisfaction rate.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between January 2017 and October 2017 we included 118 children presenting with upper arm fractures amenable to closed reduction under our institutional analgesia protocol. Children received 0.4mg/kg of Oramorph oral solution, they were then evaluated 40minutes later, and if their Face Legs Activity Cry Consolability (for children under 16 years-old) and/or Visual Analog Scale (for children over 6 years-old) were under 4, they underwent closed reduction by an orthopaedic resident under Nitrous oxide. If their pain assessment scale was above 4, they received an extra 0.4mg/kg of Oramorph oral solution and underwent closed reduction 40minutes later under nitrous oxide. These children were managed without hospitalization, as outpatients. Children>6, families and nursing staff were also given a visual satisfaction scale (using a 1-10 score) just before being discharged from the ER in order to evaluate their experience.

RESULTS

Closed reduction in the ER was judged satisfactory from an orthopedic point-of-view in 115 cases (97.6%). Parents, children and the nursing team gave the experience in the ER an average satisfaction score of 9 out of 10.

CONCLUSION

ER reduction is not only safe and effective but is also associated with a high satisfaction rate amongst children, their families and the nursing staff.