The Hurty Elbow

LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL: Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog So it’s the first shift of a run of nights. A tearful mum has brought in 18-month old Bobby who is complaining of left wrist pain for around 12 hours. She believes it started after he fell on a trampoline. Ibuprofen was given with some effect prior to bed, however the pain was worse through the night. Observing Bobby: he was not using his left arm, and consistently pointing to his lateral left forearm which he described as ‘hurty’. There was no obvious deformation of the elbow or wrist, and inconsistent reaction to palpation and ranging of both joints. You surmise that Bobby is suffering from a ‘pulled elbow’ What is a Pulled Elbow? + Reveal Answer expand(document.getElementById('ddet1723275401'));expand(document.getElementById('ddetlink1723275401')) A pulled elbow is a subluxation or partial dislocation of the radial head. This occurs in young children as the annular ligament surrounding the radial head slips easily over the developing radial head and slides into the radio-humeral joint Pulled elbow is also known as ‘Nursemaid’s elbow’, which heralds from a time where Nursemaid’s were commonplace as primary caregivers for children, and thus be the person to pull on a child’s arm who was perhaps uncooperative or to prevent an accident (e.g. running across the road) What is the mechanism of injury? ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Pediatrics Nursemaid's elbow pulled elbow Source Type: blogs