Epidemiology of humeral fractures in Malawi

We analysed and determined retrospectively the location, age, gender and side of the body of humeral fractures from 258 antero-posterior radiographs of all patients aged 3-81 years over a 5-year period. It was observed that 160 fractures occurred on the left side while 98 were on the right side with 156 occurring in males and 102 in females. Forty-eight percent of the fractures occurred at the lower end of the humerus while 41% occurred at the mid-shaft with only 10% occurring at the upper end. Furthermore, the age group of 3-12 years had the highest incidence of fractures (40.7%) with the age group of 30-39 years the lowest incidence (6.2%). Most supracondylar fractures (75.4%) occurred in children, with teenagers accounting for the majority of mid-shaft fractures (51.9%). However, middle-aged and elderly individuals had the highest incidence of upper humeral fractures (73.1%). There was significant relationship between the site of these fractures, age, gender and body side of the patients studied (p<0.001). These results are, however, not in agreement with some previously documented studies. The importance of epidemiological study of humeral fractures in planning, training and resource management in a given population is therefore stressed.