Analysis of Physeal Fractures from the United States National Trauma Data Bank

Pediatric long-bone physeal fractures can lead to growth deformities. Previous studies have reported that physeal fractures make up 18-30% of total fractures. This study aimed to characterize physeal fractures with respect to sex, age, anatomic location, and Salter-Harris (SH) classification from a current multicenter national database.

A retrospective cohort study was performed using the 2016 United States National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). Patients ≤ 18 years of age with a fracture of the humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, or fibula were included.

The NTDB captured 132,018 patients and 58,015 total fractures. Physeal fractures made up 5.7% (3291) of all long-bone fractures, with males accounting for 71.0% (2338). Lower extremity physeal injuries comprised 58.6% (1929) of all physeal fractures. The most common site of physeal injury was the tibia comprising 31.8% (1047), 73.9% (774) of which were distal tibia fractures. Physeal fractures were greatest at 11 years of age for females and 14 years of age for males. Most fractures were SH Type II fractures.

Our analysis indicates that 5.7% of pediatric long-bone fractures involved the physis, with the distal tibia being the most common. These findings suggest a lower incidence of physeal fractures than previous studies and warrant further investigation.