Epidemiology and Management of Proximal Tibia Fractures in Children and Adolescents: a Population-Based Study Based on the Kids’ Fracture Tool

Background and purpose - Proximal tibial fractures are infrequent injuries in children, and the literature on epi-demiology, associated injuries, and management is limited. We calculated a population-based incidence and described the characteristics of proximal tibial fractures in children in terms of complications and management.Patients and methods - This is a retrospective study over a 6-year-period during including 241 children with proximal tibial fractures who presented to our university hospital. Demographic and fracture-related data was col-lected from the Kids' Fracture Tool. The number of children during the study period was collected from statistical year-books of the City of Helsinki to estimate annual incidence.Results - Extra-articular fractures (129/241) peaked at the age of 3 and tibial tubercle (42/241) and intra-articular fractures (70/241) peaked at the age of 15. Annual incidences were estimated to be 3.4/100,000 children and 22/100,000 children in the age group of 13-16 years for ACL avulsions, and 3.8/100,000 children and 21/100,000 children in the age group of 13-16 years for tibial tubercle fractures. The inci-dence of vascular compromise (0%) and compartment syn-drome was low (0.4 %, 1/241).Conclusion - Proximal tibial fractures present with a bimodal distribution, with extra-articular fractures peaking at the age of 3 years and fractures of the tibial tuberosity and intra-articular fractures peaking at the age of 15 years. Additionally, associated compartment syndrome and vascu-lar compromise was not as common as previously reported.