A Study of Paediatric Supracondylar Fractures of the Humerus Presented During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Supracondylar fracture of the humerus is one of the most common fractures in children. The purpose of our study was to analyze the temporal variations and mechanisms of paediatric supracondylar fractures presented to our hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period. As the schools and parks were closed and children were confined to their homes, they were thus more prone to injuries while playing inside. We claim that this would be the first study in Pakistan to provide unique information about these fractures. We conducted this descriptive study in the Accident and Emergency Department at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan from 18th March 2020 to 18th June 2020. In the enrolled children data regarding day and time of fracture occurrence, mechanism of fracture, height of furniture or play equipment from which the children fall and types of landing surfaces were all noted. Important variables were compared and a Chi-square test was applied to calculate P value (P<0.05 was considered significant). The total number of children in our study was 160 with a mean age of 5.3±1.3 years. The most common mechanism of fracture was fall from furniture (63.1%, n=101) and the landing surface was cemented or tiled floor in the majority (84.1%, n=101) of children. Maximum (40.6%, n=65) number of fractures were reported in the month of April and on a Monday (23.7%, n=38). Most (65.6%, n=105) children sustained fractures in PM time. The peak time of occurrence of fracture was 1700 h. We concluded that the majority of children sustained fractures due to a fall from furniture landing on hard cemented or tiled surfaces. Maximum number of fractures was reported in the month of April and on a Monday. Most of these injuries occurred in the evening and were operated on at night. The increased frequency of paediatric supracondylar fractures in the COVID-19 pandemic supports that preventative strategies should focus more on adult supervision, prevention of falls from furniture and provision of softer landing surfaces to lessen the impact of injury. Keywords: fracture, gartland, humerus, paediatric, supracondylar, surface resilience, temporal variations, weekday