The health-related quality of life of children with an extremity fracture: a one-year follow-up study.
OBJECTIVE
To document the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with an extremity fracture at 3 and 12 months postinjury and to determine whether it varies significantly by fracture region and site.


METHODS
Children hospitalized for an extremity fracture at 4 pediatric trauma centers were studied. A baseline, 3-month, and 12-month telephone interview were completed by a primary caregiver to measure the child's HRQOL using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). HRQOL was modeled as a function of injury, patient, and family characteristics using a longitudinal regression model.


RESULTS
Of the 100 children enrolled, 52 sustained a lower extremity fracture (LEF) and 48 an upper extremity fracture (UEF). Postinjury HRQOL scores were significantly poorer than preinjury scores for all subjects (P = 0.05). In addition, a significant proportion of subjects reported impaired physical and psychosocial HRQOL at 3 (44% and 46%, respectively) and 12 months (23% and 33%, respectively) postinjury. At 3 months postinjury, children with an LEF had significantly poorer HRQOL outcomes compared to children with a UEF. By 12 months postinjury, the physical function of children with a tibia and/or fibula fracture remained significantly lower than children with a UEF (P < or = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Children hospitalized for an extremity fracture suffered dramatic declines in physical and psychosocial well-being during the first 3 months postinjury. By 1 year postinjury, most children recovered; however, children with a tibia and/or fibula fracture still reported significantly poorer physical functioning.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21209, USA. rding1@jhmi.edu
Ru
R
Ding
Melissa L
ML
McCarthy
Eileen
E
Houseknecht
Susan
S
Ziegfeld
Vinita Misra
VM
Knight
Patricia
P
Korehbandi
Donna
D
Parnell
Patricia
P
Klotz
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005121:Extremities / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D005360:Fibula / Q000293:injuries; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013978:Tibial Fractures