When you’re 8 years old and nursing a broken forearm, a couple hours in the waiting room of an ER can feel like forever. Now, a portable ultrasound device may act as a handy, time-saving alternative.
Researchers from Griffith University looked at outcomes in children who received an ultrasound and those who received an X-ray to diagnose a suspected forearm fracture.
Nurses, physiotherapists and emergency physicians treated 270 children between the ages of 5 and 15. After 28 days, the pediatric patients went in for a checkup, which was repeated at the eight-week mark.
The findings showed that the majority of children had similar recoveries and were, eventually, right as rain.
In fact, fewer than a third of the children who received a portable ultrasound from the device needed a follow-up X-ray and care at an orthopaedic clinic.
Those without a buckle fracture, a type of bone break common in kids, were discharged. In general, children who had the ultrasound had fewer X-rays and were in the emergency room a shorter amount of time, which led to happier families.
Diverting some fractures to the ultrasound device also freed up X-rays for more acute cases, reducing cost without affecting patient safety. More importantly, the study’s findings point to the device being key in locations with less hospital care. Families would be able to refrain from traveling with an injured child and be able to access quick care — and results — nearby.
A broken bone is bad enough when you’re a kid, and a cast or splint is nothing to sneeze at — but soon, parents might at least be able to find the time spent on diagnosis to be a little less painful.