Value of ultrasonography for observation of early healing of humeral shaft fractures.
OBJECTIVE
Explore the value of ultrasonography for observation of early healing of humeral shaft fractures.


METHODS
Sixty-five humeral shaft fracture patients were recruited. They were examined sonographically with color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU) and/or power Doppler ultrasonography (PDU) during the 1st week, 2nd week, 3rd week, 4th week, 9th week, and 15th week after the initial surgical procedure of internal fixation. Formation of callus consolidation and the resistance indexes (RI) of blood flow in different durations were compared between the good healing group and bad healing (delayed fracture healing or nonunion) group.


RESULTS
Ultrasound showed that 59 patients had good fracture healing. Within the 2nd and 4th week after surgery, the RI decreased over time (P < 0.05) and color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI/PDU) grading ranged from II to III. Six patients had bad fracture healing (delayed healing or nonunion). Insufficient or absent blood flow signals demonstrated that no callus was found in and/or around the fracture sites. CDFI grading ranged from 0 to I. There was significant difference compared with the good healing group (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
CDFI/PDU is an easy, painless, and effective method for predicting the prognosis of humeral shaft fractures by estimating early healing.
Department of Ultrasound, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China. suhaiqingcn@126.com.
Hai-Qing
HQ
Su
Department of Orthopedics, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Xiao-Qiang
XQ
Zhuang
Department of Orthopedics, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Yu
Y
Bai
Department of Surgery, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Hai-Hong
HH
Ye
Department of Ultrasound, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Xiao-Hua
XH
Huang
Department of Ultrasound, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Bing-Bing
BB
Lu
Department of Orthopedics, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Sheng-Lin
SL
Lu
Department of Orthopedics, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
De-Yi
DY
Nong
Department of Orthopedics, Guangxi Minzu Hospital, Nanning, 530001, China.
Wei
W
Wang
Blood flow grading; Callus; Color Doppler; Humeral fracture; Ultrasonography