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Parental involvement in the manual reduction of pulled elbow in children
Wonjin Cho1, Seung Chul Lee, Jeong Hun Lee
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Parental involvement in reducing pulled elbow in children did not change the physician
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Child Health
Background:
- Pulled elbow, or radial head subluxation, is a common injury in young children.
- Manual reduction is the standard treatment, but parental anxiety can be a factor.
- Investigating methods to improve the treatment experience for both children and parents is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of parental involvement during the manual reduction of pulled elbow in children.
- To compare procedural outcomes and parent/physician satisfaction between groups with and without parental assistance.
Main Methods:
- A prospective case-control study involved 150 children under 6 with suspected radial head subluxation.
- Patients were randomized into two groups: physician-assisted reduction with parental finger placement on the radial head, and physician-only reduction.
- Parent and physician questionnaires assessed procedural success, ease, understanding, and satisfaction.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in the number of reduction attempts or success rates between the groups.
- Physician-reported ease of procedure was similar in both groups.
- Parents in the intervention group reported significantly higher understanding and satisfaction with the procedure.
Conclusions:
- Parental involvement in the manual reduction of pulled elbow does not alter the physician's procedural outcomes.
- However, involving parents significantly enhances their understanding and satisfaction with the treatment process.
- This suggests a valuable role for parental participation in managing pediatric musculoskeletal injuries.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of parental involvement in the manual reduction of pulled elbow in children.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective case-control study from January to December 2018. The patients were under 6 years old with suspected radial head subluxation and were randomly assigned to two groups (an intervention group with a physician's and a parent's finger placed on the patient's radial head and a control group with the physician's finger only placed on the patient's radial head) according to the method of reduction. The results of a questionnaire given to the parent and physician were analyzed.
Results:
A total of 150 patients were included in the study: 75 in the intervention group and 75 in the control group. There were no significant differences between the groups. The average number of attempts at manual reduction was 1.29 ± 0.73 in the intervention group and 1.31 ± 0.72 in the control group (P = 0.91) and the success rate of manual reduction was 96.0 and 94.7% (P = 0.70), respectively. The ease of conducting the procedure by the doctors did not show a significant difference between the two groups. However, the parents' understanding and satisfaction was significantly higher in the intervention group.
Conclusion:
Parental involvement did not affect the procedure of physician, but it improved the understanding and satisfaction of the parents.
