Efficacy of individualized adjustable skull traction pad in skull traction treatment

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of individualized adjustable pad for skull traction in the skull traction treatment. Methods A total of 41 patients with atlantoaxial dislocation who received skull traction treatment in our department between July 2017 and May 2022 were recruited and divided into observation and control groups according to the postural management. The patients of the control group received traditional management for position management (using soft pillows to elevate the shoulders, wooden pillows or towel rolls to pad the back of the neck, and salt bags placed on both sides to fix the head), and those from the observation group used the individualized adjustable skull traction pad for immobilization. The time required for traction repositioning, comfort evaluation and incidence of complications in the 2 groups were observed and statistically analyzed. Results The time required for traction repositioning (108.76±47.81 vs 226.40±177.13 h, P < 0.05) was significantly shorter, while the incidence of complications during traction treatment (19.1% vs 65.0%) was obviously lower in the observation group than the control group. Statistical difference was seen in the comfort level between the 2 groups (4.0±1.1 vs 4.9±1.5, P < 0.05). Conclusion Compared with the traditional method, the individualized adjustable skull traction pad can significantly shorten the time of traction repositioning, and increase the efficiency of traction, improve the comfort of patients during traction, and reduce the occurrence of complications.

Keywords

• individualized adjustable skull traction pad
• skull traction
• clinical efficacy