Study: Woodcast vs. Synthetic Splints for Paediatric Upper Limb Fractures

The results of a RCT titled An exploratory randomized controlled trial comparing wood-composite and synthetic fibreglass splint systems for the immobilization of paediatric upper limb fractures were published in October in Bone & Joint Journal!

In the study, researchers from University of Leipzig compared Woodcast splints against traditional fiberglass (Dynacast) splints. The study evaluated satisfaction outcomes in splint fixation, splint use and splint removal.

In summary, the researchers write (direct quote from article):

• The wood-composite splints (Woodcast) are biodegradable and their use may help to reduce medical waste and environmental pollution
• This exploratory randomized controlled trial suggests that the novel biodegradable Woodcast has similar splint-related failures to those with the standard synthetic fibreglass (Dynacast) for treatment of undisplaced upper limb fractures
• Secondary outcomes also suggested that pain and patient satisfaction was similar between the treatment groups.

We want to thank the research team for their hard work and to congratulate them for this publication. We are glad to see the interest towards Woodcast in hospitals and extremely happy that independent researchers study our materials in an unbiased way.

Click here to see the article on PubMed!