title: Recognition of arterial injury in elbow dislocation.
abstract: The clinical presentation of patients with elbow dislocations was reviewed to identify those factors indicating an increased risk for arterial injury. Sixty-two patients were treated for 63 elbow dislocations between January 1981 and July 1991. Eight patients (13%) sustained a concomitant arterial injury involving the brachial (7) and radial (1) arteries. Three clinical findings, absence of a radial pulse, open dislocation, and presence of systemic injuries, were correlated with arterial injury. A palpable radial pulse was absent in six (75%) patients with an arterial injury but in only two (4%) with normal vessels (p less than 0.0001, chi square). Five (33%) open dislocations had an associated arterial injury, whereas three (6%) arterial injuries occurred in closed dislocations (p less than 0.006, chi square). Systemic injury occurred in five dislocations (63%) with arterial injuries and 14 dislocations (25%) without arterial injury (p less than 0.04, chi square). Multivariate analysis showed that absence of a radial pulse was the only factor that significantly predicted arterial injury (p less than 0.0001). Although most elbow dislocations are not associated with arterial injury, absence of a radial pulse or presence of an open dislocation or both should alert the clinician to the increased possibility of an associated vascular injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington.
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Endean
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Veldenz
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Schwarcz
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hyde
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000098:blood supply; D001158:Arteries / Q000293:injuries; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011674:Pulse / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D000092464:Elbow Injuries