A Retrospective Analysis of Functional and Radiological Outcome of Different Modalities of Treatment of Fracture of Distal Radius

Abstract

Background: Fractures of the distal radius remain the most common fractures approximately one-sixth of all fractures treated in emergency departments. There are three main peaks of fracture distribution: the first peak is in children ages 5 to 14, the second is in males under age 50 and the third peak is in females over the age of 40 years. Risk factors are – decreased bone mineral density, female gender, ethnicity, heredity & early menopause have all been shown to be risk factors for this injury. The outcome of these fractures is not uniformly good regardless the treatment instituted. A thorough understanding of the anatomy & biomechanics of the wrist is a prerequisite when treating these lesions. There is a strict relationship between the quality of anatomical reconstruction & the long-term functional outcome. No single treatment is the solution for every type of fracture in every kind of patient. Based on the functional anatomy, we analyze the actual treatment possibilities & try to develop strategies in the choice of treatment for different fracture types in different patient groups. Materials and Methods: 92 Patients with extra-articular distal radius fractures were studied retrospectively. 30 were treated with conservative management and 62 with surgical management. Out of 62 cases treated surgically, 11 were managed by Plate osteosynthesis, 27 with Ligamentotaxis with External fixator & 24 with K wire fixation using Kapandji method at Department of Orthopaedics, Sri Rama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, Odisha, since July 2018 to November 2020. Results: The association of individuals anatomical parameters with the functional results was measured by Chi-square test of association and Odds ratio with the criteria of Stewart et al. taken as base line for comparison. This study showed a significant association of dorsal angulation < 10° and loss of radial inclination of < 9° with functional results, P < 0.001 also with loss of radial height < 6 mm, P < 0.001 (0.005). On reviewing literature only few articles were found determining values of individual radiological parameters for better functional outcome specially Smilovic et al. (2003) and few of them noted which parameters affect the function most but not determining the values for them. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the functional outcome of conservative treatment in comparison to various surgical modalities namely plate osteosynthesis, ligamentotaxis and k wire reduction with Kapandji method in case of extra articular and partial articular fractures of distal radius. Therefore, we cannot generalize one treatment method for all fracture patterns and treatment should be individualized to a particular fracture. Keywords: Distal radius fracture, Radiological outcome, Functional outcome