Upper Extremity Fractures in Children—Comparison between Worldwide, Romanian and Western Romanian Region Incidence

Abstract

(1) Background: Fractures represent a significant part of all pediatric injuries, with distal forearm fracture being the most common fracture type in children. (2) Methods: In this comparative, epidemiological study we collected fracture incidence data from the scientific literature and compared it to real-world data extracted from the Romanian national and regional hospital database. In order to collect information on the epidemiology of upper extremity fractures in children, we conducted a systematic literature review on Medline, via PubMed. Extracted incidence data were stratified by fracture location, age or age interval and gender. Nationwide and Western Region incidence values were calculated for different fracture locations of the upper extremity using data extracted from a centralized hospital database. Incidence values were calculated using the mid-2018 census data. The search was restricted to the pediatric population. (3) Results: Incidence values for upper arm fractures nationwide and for Western Region were 54.83/100,000 person-years and 64.79/100,000 person-years, respectively. Forearm fractures had an incidence of 139.77/100,000 person-years and 139.56/100,000 person-years, respectively. The overall incidence of upper extremity fractures nationwide and for the Romanian Western Region were 206.02/100,000 person-years and 220.14/100,000 person-years, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Incidence of upper extremity fractures in the pediatric population varies according to the analyzed data. The calculated incidence depends on the site of fractures, assessed population (worldwide, Romanian population or regional-Western part of Romania) or patients’ age.

Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopedic Surgery in Three Centers from Romania

“…However, the cancelled electives will need to be addressed at a later date or maybe in smaller, ambulatory surgical centers. The shift has now changed from postponement to being able to provide full services while maintaining a safe work environment [ 3 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. To cope with the expected larger volume of COVID-19 patients, some orthopedic facilities will continue to provide beds in support for the pandemic.…”

“…A way to address shortages of medical staff and inpatient accommodation is to decrease the length of stay. Therefore, ambulatory surgery for elective joint replacements has been increasing in popularity [ 3 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Fracturas controvertidas de miembro superior en niños y adolescentes: un debate basado en la evidencia

“…1 Los niños sufren un número mayor de fracturas que se atribuye a la mayor participación en deportes y actividades de riesgo, 2 siendo las del miembro superior un tercio del total de las fracturas en esta población. 3 Muchas de estas lesiones son consideradas inocentes, sin embargo, pueden estar asociadas a una morbilidad significativa y causar una marcada discapacidad si no son tratadas apropiadamente.…”