Old unreduced elbow dislocation: Patients' perspectives on outcome of open reduction.

INTRODUCTION

Old unreduced elbow dislocation is not uncommon in developing countries. Many authors have reported outcome of open reduction in the management of this problem. However, we did not find any study that document patient reported outcome.

OBJECTIVE

the objective of this study was to determine the patients' perspectives of outcome of open reduction in the management of old unreduced elbow dislocation.

METHODS

This was a prospective interventional study of 49 consecutive patients with old unreduced simple elbow dislocation who were treated with open reduction at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala - Kano, Nigeria and Albarka Clinic Kano, Nigeria between January 2015 and December 2019.

RESULTS

Fourty nine patients were studied with median age of 31.0 years (range: 19-60 years). The majority of the patients were within 31-40 years age group. The male to female ratio was 6:1. Using the Mayor Elbow Performance Scale (MEPS) and Patients specific Functional scale (PSFS); there are significant improvements in postoperative functional capability of the patients (P = 0.000). With the short assessment for patient satisfaction (SAPS), 93.3% of patients were either satisfied or very satisfied with the outcome of open reduction.

CONCLUSION

The outcome of open reduction for old unreduced elbow dislocation is good and is well accepted by the patients.