Relationship between Physical Characteristics and Morphological Features of the Articular Radius Surface: A Retrospective Single-Center Study

Abstract

Preoperative planning is important for the osteosynthesis of distal radius fractures. Challenges arise for patients presenting with bilateral wrist injuries or a history of contralateral wrist injuries. In such cases, the estimation of the distal radius morphology and the determination of the plate size from the preoperative physical characteristics could prove beneficial. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the physical characteristics and the morphology of the distal radius articular surface. A total of 79 wrist computed tomography (CT) images (41 women and 38 men) were evaluated. Physical characteristics, such as height, weight, and body mass index (BMI), were recorded. Three-dimensional CT analysis was performed to investigate the transverse and anteroposterior diameters of the distal radius. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationships between height, weight, and BMI and the transverse and anteroposterior diameters of the distal radius. A moderate to strong correlation was found in the overall analysis between body height and transverse diameter (r = 0.66). There were also moderate correlations between body height and anteroposterior diameter (r = 0.45) as well as weight and transverse diameter (r = 0.41), both of which were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Our findings indicate a statistically significant correlation between height, weight, and morphology of the distal radius. When analyzed by sex, the correlation between body height and the transverse diameter of the distal radius was found to be relatively strong in women (r = 0.47, p = 0.002), suggesting that it could be a useful indicator for preoperative planning, such as estimating plate size.