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Institution: Royal North Shore Hospital - NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia
Purpose: To assess the consensus on diagnosis, management and follow-up of brachial artery injuries accompanying supracondylar humerus fractures in paediatric patients.
Methodology: A literature search was conducted on PubMed/MEDLINE using terms “brachial artery injury”, “supracondylar humerus fracture” and “trauma”. This yielded 44 results, of which 25 were included. Exclusion criteria comprised publications authored in a language other than English, those with publication date preceding 10 years ago, and article non-relevance on individual appraisal of title and abstract.
Results: 25 articles were studied, comprising 1 systematic review, 10 retrospective cohort studies, 8 case reports, 5 case series, and 1 review paper. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches amongst authors varied, however there were recurring themes. Patients with persisting pale, pulseless hands following fracture reduction and fixation should undergo emergent operative exploration and potential revascularisation of the brachial artery. In cases of the distally perfused but pulseless limb, investigators generally favoured non-operative management with inpatient neurovascular observation for 48-72 hours. Assessment of upper extremity perfusion differed considerably amongst centres; some relied solely on physical examination, while others utilised ancillary pulse oximetry, duplex ultrasonography or intraoperative digital subtraction angiography to assess for arterial injury and collateral vasculature. Follow-up regimens lacked consistency and suffered substantial patient attrition.
Conclusion: There remains significant heterogeneity within the literature regarding optimal management and follow-up of these patients, necessitating more high-quality evidence.