Original articlesDistal radius fracturesRadiologic and patient-reported functional outcomes in an elderly cohort with conservatively treated distal radius fractures
Section snippets
Subjects and setting
From January 2001 to December 2001 we recruited patients from the emergency departments of 2 large urban tertiary-care hospitals. Patients who were at least 50 years of age with a unilateral, conservatively treated distal radius fracture were eligible for inclusion. Distal radius fractures were defined as those occurring within 2 cm of the distal end of the radius.11 Patients who refused or were unable to provide informed consent, were unable to communicate in English, had bilateral distal
Results
Over a 1-year period radiographic and self-reported functional outcome data were collected for 74 patients. The mean ± SD age was 69 ± 12 years with a range of 50 to 96 years. Most (82%) were women and 92% of the population was white. The vast majority of patients were right handed, 45% of fractures involved the dominant hand, and all injuries were reported as secondary to a fall. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between those patients with and
Discussion
Our data do not support the hypothesis that unacceptable reduction according to dorsal/volar tilt criteria is associated with poorer functional outcomes or dissatisfaction with treatment for wrist fractures in elderly patients. When comparing patients with acceptable radiographic reduction to those with unacceptable radiographic reduction we found no statistically significant or clinically important differences in the SF-12 PCS, SF-12 MCS, DASH, or satisfaction scores at 6 months. Given the
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Supported by grants from Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research [AHFMR] and the Alberta Medical Association/Alberta Health and Wellness MSB Innovation Fund.
No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.