Paediatric dislocations at a paediatric hospital in Nairobi

Abstract

Introducti on : Admissions to hospital due to Joint dislocations are relatively rare in children. Often depending on age and circumstance a physeal injury or fracture will often result from trauma rather than a dislocation. Methodology : This was a retrospective hospit al based multivariate study of children aged 0 – 13 years over a period of five years 2003 to 2007. Results : There were 1052 admissions due to injury over a five year period. Of these 16 were due to joint dislocations thus accounting for 1.52% of injury a dmissions. The Elbow was the most commonly injured joint accounting for 9 of 16 joint dislocations ( 56.3%) followed by the shoulder with 18.8%.Discussion: Fortunately these injuries are relatively easy to diagnose.The challenge is in any other injury i s for the attending physician to keep abreast with current knowledge of how best to manage them safely and effectivel