engleski

Thermal changes during distal radial fracture in different age groups – preliminary findings

Every fracture heals in three phases: inflammatory, reparative and remodeling. From clinical experience we know that fractures in children heal more rapidly than in adults. The increase in blood flow around the fracture rises the temperature of the surrounding tissue. As the bone heals, and remodeling phase begins, temperature around the fracture site start to decrease. There are no extensive studies of thermal changes during normal bone healing. The authors have tried to determine the difference in dynamics of thermal changes during distal radius fracture healing in children and in adults. Prospective study of 20 children aged from 4–14 years (9.0±3.1), and 25 adults aged 50–80 years (65.9±10.4) with fracture of distal radius. Medical thermography was method of measurement. The contralateral, healthy, forearm was used for comparisment. The temperature difference between fractured and healthy forearm was highest on 7th day in children (1.2 ±0.6 °C), and on 14th day in adults (1.4 ±0.5 °C). After 21st day in children, the temperature difference was 0.2 ±0.4 °C. In adult group was temperature difference was 1.0 ±0.5 °C. Eleven weeks after fracture in adult group difference was 0.5±03 °C, and 23 weeks was 0.2±0.3 °C. Preliminary findings in this research showed significant difference in duration of temperature changes during healing process of pediatric and adult distal radius fractures. Future research may lead to scientific progress in the follow-up of pediatric fractures, with the idea of reducing the number of x- ray scans, children are exposed to, in follow up period.

Distal radius ; fractures, thermography

Rad je izrađen u sklopu interno financiranog znanstveno istraživačkog projekta naziva "Termometrija, termografija i senzorika elektromagnetskog zračenja u medicini" Instituta za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada i Kliničkog bolničkog centra Zagreb