A Case Series of Surgically Treated Distal Radius Fractures: Implant Costs and Their Effect on Patient Outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: Distal radius fractures (DRFs) are common injuries, warranting a need to analyze the cost of treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of implant costs on patient-reported outcomes in DRFs. Methods: A PRO registry was retrospectively reviewed for isolated, surgically treated DRF patients. A total of 140 patients met criteria to be included in this study. Implant cost was obtained from the chargemaster database. Results: The average total implant cost was $1,289.67 ± 215.32. The average Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation scores preoperatively, at 6 weeks, and at 12 weeks were 70.8 ± 20.1, 36.6 ± 21.1, and 22.8 ± 18.0, respectively. No statistically significant relationships were observed between cost and Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation scores at 6 weeks or 12 weeks (r = −0.05, P = 0.59; r = −0.04, P = 0.64, respectively). Implant costs were shown to not be affected by fracture complexity (AO/OTA classification: 23A = $1,335.50, 23B = $1,246.86, and 23C = $1,293.14). Discussion: The total cost of implants did not influence patient outcomes indicating that patients receive no additional benefit from more costly constructs.