Purpose: Distal forearm fractures are one of the commonest injuries in children due to falling on an outstretched hand. Plain X-ray is the gold standard test for diagnosing fractures of long bones but it exposes patients to radiation with its associated health hazards. The use of ultrasonography has been proposed as a safer diagnostic test. This review aimed to summarize the evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy of bedside ultrasonography for identifying distal forearm fractures in pediatric patients.

Methods: Electronic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Best Bets databases was conducted for studies published from inception to May 2017. The search terms used included "forearm" and "fractures" and "children."

Results: Seven studies were included in the review. The overall accuracy of ultrasonography ranged from 78.6% to 99.5%. The sensitivity and specificity ranged from 85% to 100%, and from 73% to 100%, respectively. The area under the curve for ultrasonography ranged from 0.79 to 1.00.

Conclusion: Ultrasound is a reliable diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of distal forearm fractures in children when performed by well-trained emergency doctors and through using an appropriate viewing method. Conducting larger prospective blinded studies on long bone injuries would be recommended.

Keywords: child; diagnosis; ultrasonography; ultrasound; wrist fracture.

© 2024 Ayman S. Ahmed et al., published by Sciendo.

目的： 远端尺桡骨骨折是儿童因手部着地摔倒而常见的一种损伤。普通X光检查是诊断长骨骨折的金标准，但其会暴露患者于辐射的危害之中。超声波检查被提议作为一种更安全的诊断方法。本综述旨在总结关于在儿科病人中使用床旁超声波识别远端尺桡骨骨折的准确性证据。

方法： 电子检索了MEDLINE、EMBASE、Cochrane Library、Google Scholar和Best Bets数据库，查找从建库到2017年5月发表的相关研究。使用的搜索词包括“forearm”、“fractures”和“children”。

结果： 本综述共纳入了七项研究。超声波的整体准确性范围为78.6%至99.5%。敏感性和特异性分别在85%到100%，以及73%到100%之间变化。超声波检查的曲线下面积（AUC）范围为0.79至1.00。

结论： 当由经验丰富的急诊医生操作并采用适当的观察方法时，超声波是诊断儿童远端尺桡骨骨折的一种可靠的诊断工具。建议进行更大规模的前瞻性盲法研究来探讨长骨损伤的情况。

关键词： child；诊断；超声检查；超声波；腕部骨折。

© 2024 Ayman S. Ahmed et al., published by Sciendo.