AAOS releases guidelines, app to help treat pediatric elbow fractures

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has released new Appropriate Use Criteria, as well as a mobile app for the proper treatment of pediatric elbow fractures.

“These are very serious injuries requiring appropriate evaluation and treatment,” James Sanders, MD, chair of the AAOS Appropriate Use Criteria for the Management of Pediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fractures work group, said in a press release. “These criteria will be helpful for clinicians who treat these injuries on an occasional basis.”

Designed to aid trauma and emergency department doctors and orthopedic residents in treating these fractures, AAOS’ Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) offer clinicians algorithms to assist them in gauging how to treat multiple scenarios relating to an injury or condition. The AUC then ranks all treatment options available based on the latest clinical research and other factors.

The app is a three-step solution to assist and assess possible treatment for these fractures. A list of considerations for the treating clinician(s) to evaluate is provided to evaluate their ability to treat the fracture.

“It helps them to ask, ‘Should we be treating this child, or should the child be transferred to another hospital?’” Sanders said.

Next, the user is linked to approximately 3,200 potential injury scenarios. After selecting the corresponding scenario to their current circumstances, the app, much like the AUC, provides scenario-specific treatments ranked by most to least appropriate.

The app can be accessed on any computer, tablet or mobile device, according to the press release.

Sanders concluded that the use of the AUC and app, along with the expertise of the treating clinician(s), are “helping to ensure optimal care and the best long-term outcome for resuming functional use of the elbow.”

Reference:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons releases criteria and a mobile app for optimally treating broken elbows in children