REVIEW  PEDIATRIC ORTHOPEDICS 

Minerva Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2019 March;70(1):19-26

DOI: 10.23736/S0394-3410.19.03901-8

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Current concepts on humeral intercondylar fractures in children and adolescents

Flavia ALBERGHINA ¹ ✉, Antonio ANDREACCHIO ¹, Federico CANAVESE ²

¹ Department of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, Turin, Italy; ² Department of Pediatric Surgery, Estaing University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, France

INTRODUCTION: Humeral intercondylar fractures are rare in children and adolescents. Complication such as stiffness and reduction of elbow motion are extremely frequent. Anatomical reduction and restoring of articular surface are the aims of surgical intervention. The goal of this study is to review the literature on management, complications and prognosis of intercondylar fractures in children and adolescents.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A literature search was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases from the earliest date possible up to September 2018. The inclusion criteria were: 1) studies regarding intra-articular distal humerus fractures; 2) studies focusing on children and adolescents aged up to 18 years; 3) studies with a level of evidence of 1 to 4. Case-reports were excluded. Data on 145 patients were collected from the studies.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Most of the studies in the available literature on this topic are retrospective, include a little number of patients and no consensus has been found regarding the best surgical treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Humeral intercondylar fractures pose treatment challenges with both initial injury and complications. Despite the relative rarity of these injuries, there have been significant efforts in recent years to better understand the nature and outcomes associated with this fracture as well as best treatment options. Although current data still report high rates of elbow stiffness and loss of joint motion, future research should be directed at determining whether treatment algorithms will decrease complication rates and improve patient clinical and functional outcome.

KEY WORDS: Elbow joint - Humeral fractures - Child