The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Epidemiology and Management Strategies of Forearm Fractures in Children-a Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable influence over the management strategies in pediatric trauma all over the world. We are making a comparative assessment of all pediatric forearm fracture presentations in a tertiary center in Romania in a pre-pandemic year 2019 (NPG) versus a pandemic year 2021 (PG).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively compared the epidemiological, the anatomopathological, and the management features of forearm fractures for the two years.

RESULTS

A total of 1403 patients with forearm fractures, 720 in NPG and 683 in PG, ages < 1 year-19 years (mean for NPG = 9.38 years and mean for PG = 9.39 years), were included in the study. There are no differences in demographics of the patients. There was an increase in the angulation ratio in the PG group and no other differences in the anatomopathological features. Most of the patients were treated by non-surgical means with no differences between groups. In PG, titan elastic nails were more often used than K-wire for the stabilization of diaphyseal fractures. There was no difference in terms of complication rates and reinterventions between groups. The number of hospital admissions ( < 0.01) and the length of hospital stay were significantly higher in NPG versus PG, ( < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact on the epidemiology, anatomopathological features, and management strategies of forearm fractures in children. The only significant change in the medical strategy in our series was towards reducing the hospitalization rate and duration, reducing the follow-up visits.