ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Tibia is the commonest long bone fractured and when patient sustains high velocity injury soft tissue damage occurs. The incidence of open fractures, in relation to all tibial shaft fractures comes up to 6.9%.Management of open diaphyseal fractures depends upon type of fracture and soft tissue damage. Stable fractures and minimally displaced fractures are usually treated with non-operative treatment, whenever possible, but unstable fractures may require operative intervention. OBJECTIVE To compare outcome of plaster cast and external fixator method for treatment for open fracture of tibia in children. METHODOLOGY This comparative analysis was conducted upon a sample of 40 patients (in two equal groups A and B of 20 each) meeting eligibility criteria (chosen via non-probability consecutive sampling) scheduled for corrective surgery at the study setting. Group A patients were managed by manipulation under anesthesia and plaster cast and group Bpatients were managed by external fixation. The surgical outcome in terms of restored functionality and incidence of infection was recorded onto a self-structured questionnaire after taking written informed consent. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v. 22.0. RESULTS The mean age of the sample stood at 6.5 years. Group A patients encountered a lesser and milder incidence of post-operative pain and encountered no limb length discrepancies and thus attained a better surgical outcome in this regard then group B. In terms of surgical site infection and functionality; no significant difference were observed between the groups. CONCLUSION After careful consideration, it can be concluded that both treatments have their merits and neither can be discredited owing to the fact that either choice achieves good surgical outcome. Keywords: Tibial Fracture, High Velocity Fracture, Lower Limb Trauma, External Fixation, and Surgical Outcome
Publication date: 01/05/2020

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2020/May/MS_IJBPAS_2020_5083.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2020/9.5.5083