Comparison of supination/flexion maneuver to hyperpronation maneuver in the reduction of radial head subluxations: A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE

This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the effectiveness of supination/flexion (SF) and hyperpronation (HP) maneuvers in the management of radial head subluxation (RHS) in children ≤6 years old presenting to the emergency department.

METHODS

Patients were randomly allocated to one of two treatment arms. Following the application of the respective reduction maneuver, maneuver success was assessed after 10 min. If unsuccessful, the maneuver was repeated up to three times. Patients failing to achieve reduction after three attempts were classified as experiencing ultimate failure. Treatment failure rates were compared between groups for each reduction attempt. Additionally, procedural pain, side effects, and recurrence within 72 h were compared between treatment groups.

RESULTS

In this study involving 119 patients, first attempt failure rates were 9.8 % in the HP group and 24.2 % in the SF group, indicating a statistically significant advantage for HP (Risk ratio 0.41 (95 % confidence interval 0.19 to 0.98)). No statistically significant differences were observed between groups regarding second-attempt success, ultimate failure, procedural pain, side effects, or recurrence rates within 72 h.

CONCLUSION

Among children ≤6 years old presenting with RHS, the HP maneuver demonstrated significantly superior first-attempt success rates compared to SF. Therefore, we recommend the HP maneuver as the preferred initial treatment option for managing these patients.

GOV REGISTRATION

The trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov with registration number NCT05828641 (Url= https://classic.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov/ct2/show/NCT05828641).