Paediatric femoral shaft fractures: What are the concomitant injuries?

IntroductionTrauma remains a substantial cause of paediatric morbidity and mortality. Femur fractures are common in children, and frequently are the result of high-energy mechanisms of injury. A complete description of missed injuries in this population has not previously been described.Materials and methodsA retrospective chart review of patients presenting to the Alberta Children's Hospital with femoral shaft fractures was performed. Associated injuries, and injuries with delayed diagnosis were recorded.ResultsTwenty-percent of the patients suffered at least one other injury with their femur fracture. Six-percent of injuries had a delayed diagnosis, corresponding to three-percent of the patients reviewed.ConclusionThere is a risk of missed injuries in the paediatric patient presenting with a femoral shaft fracture. Paediatric trauma teams and paediatric orthopaedic teams must be aware of this risk to help reduce the incidence of missed injuries. A tertiary trauma survey on children with paediatric femoral shaft fractures may help diagnose missed injuries.