Management of medial humeral epicondyle fractures in children: a structured review protocol for a systematic review of the literature and identification of a core outcome set using a Delphi survey

Dorman, Sara L, Shelton, James A, Stevenson, Robert Allen, Linkman, Kenneth, Kirkham, Jamie ORCID: 0000-0003-2579-9325 and Perry, Daniel C ORCID: 0000-0001-8420-8252 (2018) Management of medial humeral epicondyle fractures in children: a structured review protocol for a systematic review of the literature and identification of a core outcome set using a Delphi survey TRIALS, 19 (1). 119-. ISSN 1745-6215, 1745-6215

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Abstract

Background: Medial humeral epicondyle fractures of the elbow are one of the most common injuries in childhood and often require surgery. There are currently no standardised outcome measures to assess progress after an elbow injury in a child. Wide variation in currently reported outcomes makes comparison of treatment difficult. This study aims to identify outcome measures that have previously been reported in studies evaluating the management of medial epicondyle fractures in children and to facilitate the development of a consensus core outcome set (COS) suitable for use in all future studies of medial humeral epicondyle fractures in children. Methods/design: This study will include a systematic review of the academic literature to identify a list of outcome measures that have previously been reported. The list of outcome measures will be used in a consensus setting exercise with focus groups of key stakeholders to identify key outcomes. A Delphi process to include two rounds will then be used to define the most important outcomes to all stakeholders forming the COS. Discussion: Core outcomes represent the minimum expected data reported for a specific condition and will improve the quality of future studies reducing bias, allowing easier comparison and enhancing opportunities for larger meta-analysis. It is anticipated that this COS will form part of the feasibility to a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA)-funded trial concerning the management of elbow fractures in children.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Core outcome set, Delphi, Consensus methods, Elbow fracture in children, Medial epicondyle
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	20 Feb 2018 09:22
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 05:50
DOI:	10.1186/s13063-018-2472-3
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3018246
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