The CRAFFT Study

The CRAFFT study is trying to find out the best way to treat children who have broken their arm at the wrist, and the bones have moved out of place

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The study is comparing the two most common treatments used throughout the UK

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Background

The most common part of the body for a child to break is their wrist.

Doctors are not sure whether it is best to:

Treat the broken bone in a plaster cast, allowing the broken bones to heal and grow back into the right position naturally.
Put the bones back in the right position. The child will need a general anaesthetic or sedation to straighten the broken bone, which will then be held in place with a plaster cast and, if necessary, a metal plate or wires.

Parents and children want to know if surgery is really necessary, or whether a plaster cast with natural healing will be as good.

About the trial

We plan to include at least 750 children from across the UK with this injury. This number is calculated based on previous scientific research to ensure that the study is large enough to reach a firm conclusion.

Children’s Radius Acute Fracture Fixation Trial:

A multi-centre prospective randomised non-inferiority trial of surgical reduction versus non-surgical casting for displaced distal radius fractures in children.

Study Participants

Children 4 to 10 years old inclusive with evidence of a severely displaced radius fracture.

Study Period

01/12/19 – 30/10/23

Sample Size

A minimum of 750 children, (375 per intervention group). At least 200 children (100 per intervention group) will have a completely off ended fracture.