Impact of COVID-19 on fracture rates

Summer is almost here and that would typically mean children running around playgrounds, playing sports, and some fractures. Unfortunately, this year has been anything but typical and a new report in Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on how many children are getting fractures.¹

The investigators compared acute fractures from a single level I pediatric trauma hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 15, 2020, to April 15, 2020, and then compared it to 2 cohorts from the same time in 2018 and 2019 in the same hospital. A total of 1745 patients who had acute fractures were included in the study.

Overall, there was a significant decrease in the incidence of fractures that presented to the hospital during the pandemic, with 22.5±9.1 per day in the prepandemic period and 9.6±5.1 per day during the pandemic. A decrease in the number of fractures that required surgery was also seen. As would be expected, there was a decrease in fractures linked to sports or playgrounds, but those that occurred at home or because of bicycle riding increased. Children who had a distal radius torus fracture were more likely to be given a Velcro splint during the pandemic.

The researchers concluded that in this institution there had been a 2.5-fold decrease in pediatric fracture volume. As injuries because of bicycles are on the rise, a discussion on basic safety precautions could help improve outcomes.

Reference:

1. Bram J, Johnson M, Magee L et al. Where have all the fractures gone? The epidemiology of pediatric fractures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. May 19, 2020. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1097/bpo.0000000000001600