Stable incidence of surgical treatment and hospitalisation for humeral shaft fractures among 0- to 16-year-old patients in Finland from 1987 to 2010

Background Studies among children experiencing fractures report an increasing trend toward operative management. In the present study, we examined whether the same trend has occurred for humeral shaft fractures in accordance with increasing interest toward intramedullary nailing and other operative treatments. The number, incidence and treatment of all hospitalised 0- to 16-year-old patients with humeral shaft fractures in Finland was assessed over a recent 24-year period.