ANCHOR: Ankle fractures in children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Management of ANkle fractures in CHildren: the feasibility Of a Randomised controlled trial
IRAS ID
277534
Contact name
Jennifer Boston
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham University NHS Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN29688616
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
It is common for children to sustain fractures (breaks) to their bones, and current estimates are that 1 in 3 children will sustain a break during childhood. Despite the common nature of these injuries, there are few research studies to guide the best way to treat them. One of the most common injuries in children is a broken ankle, and the majority of these do not need an operation. There are a range of different ways to treat these so called 'stable' injuries including the use of a supportive bandage (tubigrip), brace, or plaster cast. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and a recent survey suggested that there is a range of different treatments offered to the same injury in different hospitals.
We plan to undertake a trial to compare the outcomes of different treatments (supportive bandage, split or plaster) in children presenting with low risk 'stable' fractures of their ankle. Patients will be recruited in the fracture clinic following diagnosis of their injury to the ANCHOR TRIAL – a small-scale study to assess the feasibility of conducting a larger trial. We will recruit 124 children for face-to-face review at 2 and 6 weeks and remote follow up at 12 weeks.
A series of structured interviews will be completed with 24 parent-child dyads to explore the experience of participating in this study.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EM/0189
Date of REC Opinion
13 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion