Pediatric supracondylar fractures of the humerus

Summary

Evidence from three small randomized controlled trials indicates that medial-lateral crossed pinning and lateral pinning for fixation of supracondylar fractures in children may be comparable. Overall, no differences were found between the treatment groups regarding mean Baumann-angle loss, carrying angle loss, range of motion, risk of poor outcome, iatrogenic nerve injury, and infection. Infection (two studies) and ulnar nerve injury (one study) were more common in the medial-lateral treatment group, but the difference was not significant. Additional randomized trials with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up are necessary to establish the long-term safety and efficacy of these two operative treatments.