The epidemiology of elbow dislocation in the United States 2014-2023

Incurring elbow dislocations may have debilitating effects on patients' quality of life. The purpose of this study was to identify rates of elbow dislocation presenting to US emergency departments (EDs) from 2014-2023.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database was queried to identify rates of elbow dislocation presenting to US EDs from 2014-2023. Queries were repeated to identify the leading product groups and subgroups implicated in elbow dislocation. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated in 100,000 person-years for product group/subgroup, sex, 10-year age group, and year. Patients aged 0-9 years were excluded from this study.

An estimated total of 105,114 elbow dislocations (IR: 3.58) presented to US EDs during the study period. Of these, 67,200 elbow dislocations (IR: 2.29) occurred in association with sports and recreational activities. When stratified by age, sports-related mechanisms were the predominant cause of elbow dislocations in individuals aged less than 40 years. Males sustained greater rates of elbow dislocations within this age group. The leading activities and product groups associated with elbow dislocations were sports and recreation (IR: 3.70 in men, 1.55 in women), home furnishings and fixtures (2.80 in men, 0.43 in women), and home structures/construction materials (1.87 in men, 0.76 in women). Both overall and sports-related elbow dislocations peaked in the 10-19-year-old age groups.

Sports-related and recreation-related elbow dislocations have increased significantly over the past decade. As a growing number of Americans continue to participate in sports for leisure and in organized fashion, recreational participants should be aware of the risk for serious injury including elbow dislocation.

Retrospective descriptive epidemiologic study.