Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Ibuprofen plus Traction, Reposition, and Hip Spica Cast in the Treatment of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy and safety of ibuprofen plus traction, reposition, and hip spica cast in the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). METHODS: Between January 2019 and July 2020, 60 children with DDH treaded in department of orthopedics of our institution were assessed for eligibility and recruited. They were assigned at a ratio of 1 : 1 to receive either traction + reposition + hip spica cast plus analgesia pump (observation group) or traction + reposition + hip spica cast plus analgesia pump and oral ibuprofen (control group). The outcome measures included clinical efficacy, pain scores, unexpected pain calls, the dosage of analgesia pump, and adverse events. RESULTS: The two groups had similar clinical efficacy (P > 0.05). The patients given oral ibuprofen were associated with significantly lower pain scores at 24 h and 72 h postoperatively versus those without oral ibuprofen (P < 0.05). Analgesics with oral ibuprofen resulted in fewer unexpected pain calls versus analgesics without oral ibuprofen within 72 h postoperatively (P < 0.05). The application of oral ibuprofen in the analgesia pump showed great improvement in lowering the dosage of analgesia pump versus the absence of ibuprofen (P < 0.05). The incidence of adverse events was similar between the two groups of patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Traction + reposition + hip spica cast plus analgesia pump and oral ibuprofen effectively mitigated postoperative pain in children with DDH and reduces analgesic drug dosage with a high safety profile.