# In 1958 would a broken arm get a kid hospitalized for 4 days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079 "2018-09-28T02:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/21 "2018-09-28T23:53:13Z")
I broke my arm in the mid 70s when I was in 5th grade. Radius was compound fracture, Ulna was a simple (or vice versa). The bones were surgically set. I spent at least 3 nights in the hospital. I wore a cast past my elbow for several weeks and got one below the elbow for several more. Brian ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/22 "2018-09-29T01:19:55Z")
Eddie had also been jumped by four guys, had gravel ground into his face and mouth, and had gone into shock after the attack - he was in and out of consciousness when Officer Nell found him and during his ambulance ride. A greenstick fracture doesn’t have to mean a minor splintering, either - just that the break is not complete. It could still have been pretty angulated. Given the circumstances, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to keep him for further observation, especially if there was reason to be concerned about compartment syndrome, or if they were worried about his ‘asthma’, or if his mother was an overbearing harridan and the doctor was cowed by her. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/23 "2018-09-29T03:36:36Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > infection you get from the hospital even has a name - nosocomial > > [Hospital-acquired infection - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital-acquired_infection) They are so prevalent they have TWO names. See also “iatrogenic.” ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/24 "2018-09-29T13:43:47Z")
I was hospitalized for a week from a broken arm in 1990. On edit, it was compound fracture that needed surgery to set though. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/25 "2018-09-29T13:54:39Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > On edit, it was compound fracture that needed surgery to set though. Yes, compound fractures are on a whole other level to closed fractures. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/26 "2018-09-29T15:50:24Z")
Would socioeconomic differences account for the discrepancies among above posts regarding hospitalization times during the 1950-60s? My understanding as that more people were pretty much on your own back then when it came to medical expenses, but this also meant that doctors were less stingy about providing care to those who were willing to pay for it since insurance companies weren’t pulling their strings as much. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079/27 "2018-09-29T16:21:32Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > Would socioeconomic differences account for the discrepancies Not here, they wouldn’t. If you needed to go to hospital, they’d send you to hospital. My break just wasn’t that serious. Simple, uncomplicated break. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-1958-would-a-broken-arm-get-a-kid-hospitalized-for-4-days/822079.md?page=1)