Pediatric polytrauma: orthopaedic care and hospital course.

Seventy-eight children with multiple trauma who had sustained one major musculoskeletal injury and at least one other major injury were studied. Injury severity was classified by the Modified Injury Severity Scale. There were 137 musculoskeletal injuries; 47 complications occurred in 27 patients. Early osteosynthesis tended to shorten the hospital stay, intensive care unit stay, and length of time ventilatory support was needed. Those patients undergoing immediate surgical stabilization of fractures had fewer complications than those undergoing surgical stabilization after 72 h. Those children with fractures treated by prolonged bed rest and who also had both neural and thoracoabdominal injuries had a higher rate of complications related to immobilization.