The Emergent Evaluation and Treatment of Elbow and Forearm Injuries

Elbow and forearm injuries are a daily reality in emergency care, and a few of them can threaten the limb. In this episode we break down the 2020 review by Hanlon and Mavrophilipos in Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. The elbow is the second most commonly dislocated large joint in adults: 90% of dislocations are posterolateral, one in three carries an associated fracture, and ulnar nerve injury appears in 8% to 21% of posterior dislocations. We cover the four-way range of motion test that can rule out the need for radiographs, point-of-care ultrasound that detects as little as 1 to 3 mL of joint fluid, the Mason classification for radial head fractures, and the Monteggia pattern whose radial head dislocation is missed in 20% to 50% of first evaluations. We close with reduction techniques, splinting positions, and why immobilization beyond three weeks ruins outcomes. The Emergent Evaluation and Treatment of Elbow and Forearm InjuriesHanlon DP, Mavrophilipos V · Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 2020https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emc.2019.09.005 Want our summary slides for every paper? Follow us on Instagram: @dr.polotrauma