Abstract
BackgroundAlthough optimal treatment of distal radius fractures is controversial, surgery has gained popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate recent trends in the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures in Finns aged 50 years or more.MethodsA nationwide hospital discharge register-based study was conducted among all patients 50 years of age or older who had a surgically treated distal radius fracture in Finland between 1998 and 2016. The number and rate of different surgical procedures were calculated per 100,000 person-years.ResultsAltogether 21,965 surgically treated distal radius fractures were identified. During the study period the rate of percutaneous pinning and external fixation diminished while the rate of plate fixation significantly increased. The rate of operative treatment increased continually from 1998 to 2008 whereupon the peak of the incidence was achieved. After 2008, the rate of operative treatment of distal radius fracture remained quite constant, ranging between 61.1 and 67.8 per 100,000 person-years.ConclusionsPlate fixation has almost completely replaced both external fixation and percutaneous pinning in the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures in Finland. Despite growing evidence for less invasive treatment options in elderly patients, operative treatment of distal radius fracture is still rather popular today.
Highlights
Optimal treatment of distal radius fractures is controversial, surgery has gained popularity
We examined the incidences of various types of surgical treatments performed for Distal radius fracture (DRF) in patients aged 50 years or more
The distal radius fracture surgery data was obtained from the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register (NHDR), which is an electronic hospital data registry containing variables such as personal identification number, sex, domicile, external cause of injury, diagnoses, and all surgical procedures performed during the hospital stay
Summary
Optimal treatment of distal radius fractures is controversial, surgery has gained popularity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate recent trends in the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures in Finns aged 50 years or more. Even though non-operative treatment is still the most common treatment option for distal radius fractures, many investigators have reported about increase in the surgical activity [7, 9, 10]. Coincidental with the change, the rate of open reduction and internal fixation increased and the rate of percutaneous approaches decreased [10]. These changes have been later confirmed by national studies in Finland (from 1998 to 2008) and Sweden (from 2004 to 2010) [7, 9]. To the best of our Hevonkorpi et al BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2018) 19:70 knowledge, no national level epidemiological data on operative treatment of DRFs has been reported thereafter
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