Falls from monkey bars and minor trauma are implicated in the majority of childhood forearm fractures. The prevention strategies should target playground safety. Further research is needed to evaluate factors, including obesity and bone health, which may contribute to forearm fracture risk associated with minor trauma.

Prescription drug shortages have become increasingly common and more severe over the past decade. In addition, reported shortages are longer in duration and have had a greater effect on patient care. Some of the causes of current drug shortages are multifactorial, including the consolidation of drug manufacturers, quality problems at production plants that restrict the supply of drugs, and a lack of financial incentives for manufacturers to produce certain products, particularly generic medications. Generic injectable medications are most commonly affected by shortages because the production process is complex and costly for these drugs, and profit margins are often smaller than for branded medications. Many commonly used emergency department (ED) generic injectables have been affected by shortages, including multiple resuscitation and critical care drugs. Several reports have shown that shortages can potentially have major effects on the quality of medical care, including medication errors, treatment delays, adverse outcomes, and increased health care costs. Currently, no published data exist outside of case reports that directly link ED-based drug shortages to overall patient safety events; however, there are several examples in the ED where first-line therapies for life-saving medications have been in short supply, and alternatives have higher rates of adverse events, narrower therapeutic indexes, or both. Aside from increasing notification about shortages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has little power to coerce manufacturers to produce medications during a shortage. Therefore, ED providers must learn to mitigate the effects of shortages locally, through active communication with pharmacy staff to identify safe and effective alternatives for commonly used medications when possible. Particularly given the effect on critical care medications, therapeutic alternatives should be clearly communicated to all staff so that providers have easy access to this information during resuscitations. This review focuses on the etiology of drug shortages, their effect on the ED, and potential solutions and mitigation strategies.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2014;21:704-711 © 2014 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine P rescription drug shortages have become increasingly common and more severe over the past decade, a trend that is projected to continue into the foreseeable future.1-4 Although typically associated with oncology drugs, drug shortages can affect a wide variety of medications and can lead to delays in treatment, suboptimal treatment, or no treatment being available when indicated. 5,6 Drug shortages can also contribute to medication errors and increased health care costs. 7,8 Shortages have had a dramatic effect on the practice of emergency medicine, as many commonly used medications in the emergency department (ED) have been affected. 3,9 This review will focus on the etiology of drug shortages, their effect on the ED, the role of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and potential ...

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Forearm fractures are unique injuries which are associated with lower bone mineral density in adults and white children. The relationships among bone mineral density, 25-hydroxyvitamin D status, and risk for forearm fracture have not been investigated in African American children. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Our data support an association between both lower bone mineral density and vitamin D deficiency and increased odds of forearm fracture in African American children. Promotion of bone health is indicated in this population.abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine whether African American children with forearm fractures have decreased bone mineral density and an increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level #20 ng/mL) compared with fracture-free control patients. METHODS:This case-control study in African American children, aged 5 to 9 years, included case patients with forearm fracture and control patients without fracture. Evaluation included measurement of bone mineral density and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to test for associations between fracture status and 2 measures of bone health (bone mineral density and 25-hydroxyvitamin D level) while controlling for other potential confounders. RESULTS:The final sample included 76 case and 74 control patients. There were no significant differences between case and control patients in age, gender, parental education level, enrollment season, outdoor play time, height, or mean dietary calcium nutrient density. Cases were more likely than control patients to be overweight (49.3% vs 31.4%, P = .03). Compared with control patients, case patients had lower whole body z scores for bone mineral density (0.62 6 0.96 vs 0.98 6 1.09; adjusted odds ratio 0.38 [0.20-0.72]) and were more likely to be vitamin D deficient (47.1% vs 40.8%; adjusted odds ratio 3.46 [1.09-10.94]). CONCLUSIONS:These data support an association of lower bone mineral density and vitamin D deficiency with increased odds of forearm fracture among African American children. Because suboptimal childhood bone health also negatively impacts adult bone health, interventions to increase bone mineral density and correct vitamin D deficiency are indicated in this population to provide short-term and long-term benefits. Pediatrics 2012;130:e553-e560

Ground-level falls are a common mechanism of pediatric forearm fracture and are significantly associated with increased weight status and radius-only fractures. These results suggest the need for further investigation into obesity and bone health in pediatric patients with forearm fractures caused by ground-level falls.

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Effects of neighborhood contextual features have been found for many diseases, including bone fractures in adults. Our study objective was to evaluate the association between neighborhood characteristics and pediatric bone fracture rates. We hypothesized that neighborhood indices of deprivation would be associated with higher fracture rates. Pediatric bone fracture cases treated at a tertiary, academic, urban pediatric emergency department between 2003 -2006 were mapped to census block groups using geographical information systems software. Fracture rates were calculated as fractures per 1,000 children in each census block. Exploratory factor analysis of socioeconomic indicators was performed using 2000 census block data. Factor scores were used to predict odds of bone fracture at the individual level while adjusting for mean age, gender composition, and race/ethnicity composition at census block level using our sample data. We analyzed 3764 fracture visits in 3557 patients representing 349 distinct census blocks groups. Fracture rates among census blocks ranged from 0 to 207 per 1,000 children/study period. Logistic regression modeling identified two factors (race/education and large families) associated with increased fracture risk. Census variables reflecting African American race, laborer/service industry employment, long term block group residence and lower education levels strongly loaded on the race/education factor. The large families factor indicated the children-to-families ratio within the block group. The poverty factor was not independently associated with fracture risk. Thus,

We sought to investigate the relationship between newly identified genetic variants and vitamin D levels and fracture risk in healthy African American (Black) children. This case-control study included children of both sexes, ages 5 to 9 years, with and without forearm fractures. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels, bone mineral density, body mass index and calcium/vitamin D intake were measured in 130 individuals (n = 60 cases and n = 70 controls). The five variants tested were located in the GC gene (rs2282679), in the NADSYN1 gene (rs12785878 and rs3829251), and in the promoter region of the CYP2R1 gene (rs2060793 and rs104741657). Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and vitamin D levels were tested using an ANCOVA. Associations between SNPs and fracture status were tested using logistic regression. The GC gene variant was associated with vitamin D levels (p = 0.038). None of the SNPs were associated with fracture status in young Blacks. These results suggest that the variants tested, which are associated with circulating vitamin D levels in Whites, are not associated with fracture status in healthy Black children. Additional research is required to discover the genetics of fracture risk in Blacks.

A group of experts met to discuss a case from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. This case conference is part of a series featuring a variety of sports medicine topics.