• Emmélie Chaibi, Pierre-Yves Zambelli, and Sophie Merckaert.
• Department of Women, Mother and Child's Health Care, Paediatric Surgery, Unit of Paediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Rue du Bugnon 46, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2022 Oct 1; 48 (5): 3449-3459.

PurposeAbout 20% of all fractures in children occur at the lower extremity. This study aims to investigate the epidemiology and injury pattern of lower extremity fractures within the pediatric population consulting a tertiary referral hospital in Switzerland.MethodsStudy population included all patients up to 16 years presenting with a lower extremity fracture over a period of one year. Recorded data were age, gender, side, season of the year, mechanism, type of fracture and applied treatment.ResultsFractures of the lower extremity represent 23% of all fractures with a mean age of 9 years and 6 months. The tibia, with 94 fractures (38%), represents the most frequently injured bone. Peak incidence is seen in winter and 24% of tibia shaft fractures were due to board sports. Overall, 82% of fractures were treated by cast with or without closed reduction, and only 18% requested surgery.ConclusionBoard sports seems to be a leading cause of tibial shaft fracture in our region. Nevertheless, only 18% of fractures had recourse to an orthopedic surgeon, hence the importance of the teaching quality of pediatric residents for conservative fracture treatment.© 2020. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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