All those eponyms. What does the emergency physician need to know for wrist and forearm fractures?

A great review of hand injuries EM providers shouldn't miss. How do you diagnose and manage flexor tenosynovitis, compartment syndrome, and UCL disruption?

Wrist pain is a frequent emergency department complaint. Most presentations are due to an acute traumatic injury. Furthermore, overuse or repetitive motion mechanisms cause ED visits for either an acute injury or an exacerbation of chronic pain conditions. For the purposes of this post, the wrist is going to be defined as injuries occurring to the distal radius and ulna, as well as any injury to the carpal bones. In addition, I feel it to be a poor use of this forum to simply list every conceivable form of wrist injury. Instead, I’d like to discuss the following:

• Pertinent questions you need to ask your patient when evaluating a wrist injury
• Pain management techniques including hematoma blocks
• Which fractures have a higher likelihood of developing avascular necrosis
• What type of splint is indicated for a particular injury

"Emergency physicians with ultrasound training have been shown to be capable of visualizing effusions of the hip with a sensitivity between 80-85% and specificity between 98-100%"