Articles: casts-standards.
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Multicenter Study
Re-displacement of paediatric forearm fractures: role of plaster moulding and padding.
Re-displacement of paediatric forearm and wrist fractures following manipulation and cast application is a common complication. Poor plaster application technique is an important risk factor for re-displacement. However, there are no reliable and validated objective radiological measurements to differentiate a well-applied plaster cast from a poorly padded and moulded cast. ⋯ Cast index, Padding index and Canterbury index were significantly greater in the re-displacement group as compared to the cases where no re-displacement was seen (p<0.005). Improvement in the plaster application skills as monitored by these indices reduced the re-displacement rate by 50%. We suggest that a high Cast index of more than 0.8, Padding index of more than 0.3 and the combined Canterbury index of 1.1 are important risk factors for re-displacement of these fractures.