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Pseudofracture: An Acute Peripheral Tissue Trauma Model
Published on: April 18, 2011
Fractures in children in south eastern Nigeria
1Paediatric Surgery Unit College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria.
Insights
Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of pediatric fractures in southeastern Nigeria. Prevention strategies focusing on infrastructure and public awareness are crucial to reduce these injuries.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Pediatric Trauma
- Public Health
Background:
- Pediatric fractures represent a significant public health concern.
- Understanding fracture patterns is essential for developing targeted prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the epidemiology of pediatric fractures in southeastern Nigeria.
- To identify key causes and anatomical locations of fractures in children.
- To inform preventative measures related to infrastructure and public safety.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 102 pediatric patients treated for fractures.
- Data collected from January 1993 to December 1995 at a tertiary referral center.
- Analysis of fracture causes and anatomical distribution.
Main Results:
- Road traffic accidents were the most common cause (50%), followed by falls and collapsing mud walls.
- Femur fractures were most frequent (25), followed by radius (22) and humerus (20).
- Greenstick fractures were predominant (58 patients).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric fractures in this region are often caused by preventable factors like road traffic accidents.
- Conservative therapy is effective, but malunion necessitates open reduction in neglected cases.
- Public awareness campaigns, improved infrastructure (pedestrian pathways), and safer building practices are recommended to reduce fracture incidence.
Objectives:
To evaluate the pattern of fractures in children in the south eastern region of Nigeria, seeking to highlight the planning and designs of buildings, roads and playgrounds to prevent paediatric fractures.
Design:
Retrospective review of paediatric patients with fractures who presented at the only tertiary referral centre in the region.
Setting:
A university teaching hospital situated in the south eastern corner of Nigeria.
Subjects:
102 paediatric patients treated for fractures between January 1993 and December 1995.
Main Outcome Measures:
Causes of fractures and their anatomical distribution.
Results:
71 boys and 31 girls were treated for fractures. The commonest cause of fractures was road traffic accidents accounting for 50% of the patients, followed by falls and collapsing mud walls. Most of the fractures seen (58 patients) were of the green stick type. The femur was the commonly fractured bone (25 patients) followed by the radius (22 patients) and humerus (20 patients). Road traffic accident victims presented earlier at the hospital than victims of other causes. Also lower limb fracture patients presented earlier than patients with upper limb fractures.
Conclusion:
Paediatric fractures are amenable to conventional conservative therapy and open reduction became necessary in long neglected cases with associated malunion. Since the causes of fractures are largely preventable, public enlightenment campaigns, provision of pedestrian pathways, care on the part of school authorities and proper structural construction of the traditional houses may help reduce the number of cases of fracture in our environment.
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