Treatment reality of distal radius fractures in a center

Abstract

Distal radius fractures are the third most common type of fracture in Germany after fractures of the femoral neck and peritrochanteric femoral fractures. In 2019 a total of 72,087 cases were registered with an incidence of 106 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (81,570 fractures of the femoral neck, 73,785 peritrochanteric fractures). Many of these fractures are surgically treated also in this hospital but with controversial views on the optimal treatment. Against the background of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, disappearing personnel resources and the political pressure to form centers and a switch to outpatient treatment, the authors ask the question what the treatment reality in this hospital looks like and whether the general changes in the framework conditions also have an affect in this context. This is not a strictly scientific study but a stocktaking without any claims of completeness and the retrospective evaluation of a larger data pool with all its weaknesses. On the contrary, the data provide interesting aspects that are explained in detail in the individual sections.