SCIENCE

A displaced medial epicondyle fracture is a break on the inside of the elbow, when a small piece of bone is broken off. Around 1,000 children in the UK get this injury every year, but some doctors treat this with surgery, and some with a cast without surgery. The SCIENCE study was a randomised clinical trial comparing the two treatments. The study compared function, pain, return to hobbies, quality of life, time off school, complications and costs to find the most effective treatment.
For more information, please see www.SCIENCEstudy.org 

External Links

Here are relevant links to the study...

• [Main Study Report] 'Surgical fixation versus non-surgical care for children with a displaced medial epicondyle fracture of the elbow (the SCIENCE study): a multicentre, randomised controlled, superiority trial and economic evaluation'
• [Qualitative Research - Family Perspective] 'A qualitative study of parents’ and their child’s experience of a medial epicondyle fracture' published in Bone and Joint Open
• [Qualitative Research - Staff Perspective] 'Leading through expertise: a qualitative study of clinicians' experience of a paediatric clinical trial for displaced medial epicondyle fracture' published in Bone and Joint Open
• SCIENCE Patient Information Leaflet (English UK)
• SCIENCE Patient Information Leaflet (Welsh)
• SCIENCE Patient Information Leaflet (Polish)
• SCIENCE Patient Information Leaflet (Punjabi)
• SCIENCE Patient Information Leaflet (Romanian)