Upper limb radiography (pediatric)

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Upper limb radiography involves plain film imaging of the shoulder, humerus, ulna, radius, metacarpals and carpal bones in pediatric patients. Depending on the patients' age, the difficulty of the examination will vary, often requiring a specialist trained radiographer familiar with a variety of distraction and immobilization techniques.

Radiographic views

Patient preparation

Patients should remove any clothing or jewelry on the affected upper limb.

Tips for pediatric upper limb radiography

Often difficulties in imaging the pediatric upper limb radiography include:

To overcome this, a variety of techniques can be used:

  • distract the patient with toys, games and/or conversation
  • perform immobilization with blankets and velcro straps
Paediatric radiography