FRACTURES IN CHILDHOOD IN KHARTOUM

A prospective study of fractures in 231 children received at Khartoum North Teaching Hospital(KNTH) was carried out for a period of six mont hs, The incidence of child fracture rated as one per day, then it Incr eased from the age of 5 years onwards in boys and between 6 and 8 year s in girls, Most injuries were sustained during the day time, especial ly between late afternoon and sunset, 82% of injured children presente d to a medical facility, while 18% were taken to native healers first, Non-road traffic accidents accounted for 84% of the fractures mainly due to sports, domestic injuries and falls; whereas road traffic accid ents were 16% and occurred mainly in pedestrians, Forty three percent of the fractures needed only first aid and splintage while 42% needed closed reduction, Thirty one percent of all patients were treated as i npatients, The long bones were affected in 91% of all fractures, the c ommonest site being the distal end of the forearm (26%), followed by s upracondylar fracture of the humerus (15.6%). In the upper limb, left- sided fractures predominated, The epiphyseal injuries were 3.5% of all fractures,mainly at the distal radial epiphysis, Boys were commonly a ffected between 13-15 years of age. Open fractures constituted 9.8% of the series and were mainly due to traffic accidents in town dwellers, the most vulnerable bones were those of the leg and foot. Pathologica l fractures accounted for 2.2% and were due to bone cysts and osteogen esis imperfecta. The problem of child safety and the preventive measur es need to be more stressed.