Elsevier

Annals of Emergency Medicine

Volume 21, Issue 11, November 1992, Pages 1349-1352
Annals of Emergency Medicine

Original contribution
Prospective evaluation of the scapular manipulation technique in reducing anterior shoulder dislocations

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-0644(05)81900-6Get rights and content

Study objective:

To evaluate the speed, efficacy, and safety of the scapular manipulation technique in reducing acute anterior shoulder dislocations.

Design:

Prospective study.

Setting:

Urban emergency department with an annual census of 65,000 patients.

Participants:

Forty-eight adult patients with acute anterior shoulder dislocation.

Interventions:

Patients had an initial neurovascular and radiographic evaluation performed. They were sedated with IV fentanyl and midazolam. The shoulder was reduced using the scapular manipulation technique. The patient was re-evaluated for any evidence of complication. The total dose of analgesic required and time to reduction were recorded.

Results:

The scapular manipulation technique was successful in 46 of 48 (96%) cases. The average time to reduction was 6.05 minutes, and no complications were detected. Average doses of 1.83 mg midazolam and 204 μg fentanyl were required for reduction.

Conclusion:

The scapular manipulation technique is a very fast, effective, safe method of reducing anterior shoulder dislocations in the ED.

References (23)

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