Smartest Doc
The Captain Morgan Technique for the Reduction of the Dislocated Hip Full Text
Annals of Emergency Medicine, 08/17/2011
Hendey GW et al. – The authors describe an interesting and novel technique for the reduction of a hip dislocation. Physicians should consider this method a primary technique for the acute management of hip dislocation in the emergency department (ED).
Methods- The authors searched the medical records of all patients with a hip dislocation treated in the ED during a 4–year period.
- They recorded patient demographics, reduction technique, outcome and disposition, and whether the patient had a prosthetic hip.
- They reported characteristics of the entire study group and of the subset of patients for whom the Captain Morgan technique was used.
- Briefly, the technique involves placing the physician's knee behind the supine patient's flexed knee and lifting with anterior force, with rotation as needed.
- Of 77 patients meeting criteria, the mean age was 46 years (range 5 to 91 years), 35 (45%) had a prosthetic hip, and 67 (87%; 95% confidence interval 77% to 93%) received successful reduction in the ED.
- In 13 cases, the Captain Morgan technique was specifically described and was successful in 12 (92%; 95% confidence interval 64% to 100%).
- The single technique failure occurred in a patient with an acetabular fracture with an intra–articular fragment requiring open reduction.
- There were no described neurovascular complications or injuries to the knee.
