Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the profiles of patients after distal radius fracture treatment grouped according to demographic and clinical factors, and grip strength on the fracture contralateral side. Method: This was a retrospective and cross-sectional single-center study that included 141 patients with unilateral distal radius fractures treated at a public hospital by the physical therapy service. Results: Demographic and clinical data from all patients included in this study were collected from patients' medical records. Grip strength was assessed between 8 and 10 weeks after the fracture. We performed an exploratory multivariate analysis using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) followed by Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (AHC). Numerical values of coordinates of all the dimensions obtained in MCA were used as input variables in the cluster analysis and the perceptual map of hierarchical clustering (Dendrogram) was obtained. We highlighted three groups based on cluster analysis. One group included men, aged 18 to 59 years, with fractures either on the right or left side, trauma caused by traffic accidents or other causes, surgical treatment and normal grip strength on the contralateral side. The second group had women, aged 60 to 90 years, fracture resulting from falls from their own height, conservative treatment and intermediate grip strength on the contralateral side. The third group had only the weak grip strength on the contralateral side. Conclusion: This cluster analysis revealed three profiles of patients during the early period after distal radius fracture treatment.
Published Version
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