Ultrasound in Forearm Fractures
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Point of Care Ultrasound: A useful modality for rapid diagnosis and management of forearm fractures in the Emergency Department
IRAS ID
227707
Contact name
Darryl Wood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Patients who present to the Emergency Department (ED) with a forearm injury that may be fractured are initially assessed by a clinician followed by an XRAY of the affected limb. Those patients where a fracture is identified may require urgent manipulation of the fracture under conscious sedation or regional nerve anaesthesia. Once it is deemed to be correctly manipulated a repeat XRAY is required to confirm the bony alignment. Should the alignment not be adequate, a repeat of the manipulation process is required, sometimes additional sedation is needed. Using point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) in the ED we aim to make an early diagnosis of the fracture site prior to the first XRAY (we aim to assess the accuracy of our test) and also once a manipulation has been done we will determine the accuracy of the bone realignment using PoCUS. PoCUS is a safe, non invasive, painless method that will make an immediate diagnosis of the fracture and also reduce the number of XRAYS required following the manipulation of the fracture (we aim to assess the accuracy of PoCUS in determining fracture relocation to an acceptable bony position).
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1341
Date of REC Opinion
21 Sep 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion