Outcome of management with poly-sling versus figure-of-eight brace in patients with mid-clavicular fracture

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the pain score in patients who have middle-third clavicle fractures and are receiving treatment with poly-sling and figure-of-eight braces. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from August 2023 to February 2024. We conducted this study on 68 patients aged 20–60, both sexes, presenting with closed mid-clavicular non-pathological fractures with intact neurovascular bundles of <7-day duration. The patients were divided into two equal groups. Group A was treated with a figure-of-eight brace, while Group B had a poly-sling. We compared the intensity of pain using the Visual Analog Score (VAS) in both groups. Results: There were 68 patients, 34 in each group. In Group A (figure-of-eight brace), the mean pain score measured by VAS was 7.24 ± 0.955, while in Group B (Poly-sling), the mean pain score measured by VAS was 5.44 ± 1.186 ( P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The VAS showed a significant decrease in pain when treating mid-clavicular fractures with poly-sling compared to the figure-of-eight brace.