Overly Aggressive Management of Acute Pediatric Forearm Fractures May Be Common

Pediatric patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with forearm fractures often undergo procedural sedation for closed reduction before splinting, but many of these fractures will heal well without acute manipulation. To assess how often such procedures are potentially unnecessary, researchers performed a retrospective chart review at a single pediatric referral center. Inclusion criteria were children aged <10 years presenting to the ED with an acute isolated distal radius metaphyseal fracture, with or without associated ulna fracture. “Potentially unnecessary” reduction was defined by evidence-based criteria (complete fracture with <1 cm of shortening and < 20° angulation in the sagittal and coronal planes).

Of 258 children (m…