Clinical radiology
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Clinical Trial
Critical evaluation of the radial head-capitellum view in acute elbow with an effusion.
The radial head-capitellum (RHC) view was performed in 125 patients following acute elbow trauma in which an elbow fat-pad effusion was visible on the standard antero-posterior and lateral projections. Seventy-four fractures were identified of which 63 (85%) involved the radial head. ⋯ Magnification blurring and the vertical orientation of the radial head fractures missed on the RHC view are responsible for this confusing situation. Routine use of the RHC view even in acute elbow trauma significant enough to produce an effusion is generally unhelpful and potentially misleading.