Particularities of upper extremity fractures in patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Background. Treatment of the fractures in patients with COVID-19, given the novelty of this problem, is one of the most difficult tasks of modern traumatology and orthopedics. The purpose of this study was to determine the peculiarities of the course of the traumatic process in victims with fractures of the upper limbs against the background of COVID-19. Materials and methods. To carry out our research, we retrospectively analyzed the treatment of 136 trauma patients who underwent inpatient treatment in one of the city hospitals of Kyiv from 2019 to 2021. In our study, we used the generally accepted AO/ASIF classification of fractures to determine the clinical and nosological characteristics of injuries in patients with COVID-19. Results. During the COVID-19 epidemic, fractures to the distal part of the forearm (28.8 %), clavicle (17.8%) and proximal part of the shoulder (15.1 %) were most often detected. Among segmental injuries in patients with COVID-19, forearm (in 42.5 % of cases) and shoulder (in 35.6 % of cases) fractures predominated. Also, simple fractures of type A (72.6 %) were more common, and much less fragmentary fractures of type B (21.9 %) and multifragmentary type C fractures (5.5 %) were present. It is worth noting a significant decrease in the number of hand injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic by almost 7 times. In our opinion, this is due to the lockdown introduced by the authorities of Ukraine, which significantly reduced the number of industrial injuries among the research sample. Conclusions. We concluded that the COVID-19 pande­mic significantly affected the clinical and nosological structure and characteristics of bone fractures of the upper limb girdle, the analysis of cases proved that such changes in the clinical and nosological structure of fractures of the upper limb girdle are associated with changes in life activities during the pandemic and more typical for domestic trauma.