Epidemiology of fractures of the humerus at the university college hospital Ibadan

Abstract

Background: The humerus is one of the long bones of the upper limb. It may be fractured following traumatic or non-traumatic injury. Humeral shaft fractures account for 1-3% of all fractures. However supracondylar fracture of the humerus is more common amongst children accounting for about 16% of all pediatric fractures. Trauma especially from falls especially in both children and geriatric populations has been known to cause humeral fractures. Other causes had been documented also. This study was aimed at determining the incidence, cause and pattern of humeral fracture in patients who presented to the accident and emergency department of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Methods: Patients with radiologically confirmed humeral fractures who presented to the accident and emergency department of the hospital between January 2015 and December 2019 were included in the study. Data was obtained from the electronically stored data at the department of orthopedic surgery and trauma university college hospital Ibadan using a proforma and the data generated was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16. Results: A total of 167 patients with humeral fractures were seen during the study period. Most of these patients are within the age range of 0-15 years. Male to female ratio was 1.7:1. Most humeral fractures were due to fall and the distal humerus was most commonly affected. Conclusions: Humeral fractures occur in younger people and efforts should be geared towards preventing this trend in younger population.