title: Similar 1-year subjective outcome after a distal radius fracture during the 10-year-period 2003-2012.
abstract: Background and purpose - During the last decades, treatment of distal radius fractures (DRFs) has changed, with surgical intervention being more common and with new techniques. We investigated whether this change has influenced the subjective outcome. Here we report, year by year, the 1-year score after a DRF over a 10-year-period, using a patient-reported outcome measure. Patients and methods - Patients aged 18 years or more with a DRF between 2003 and 2012 were prospectively and consecutively registered in a longitudinal outcome database. 1 year after the fracture, all the patients were sent a validated subjective outcome questionnaire, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH). The lower the score (0-100), the better the outcome. Results - Between 2003 and 2012, 3,666 patients (2,833 of them women; mean age 62 (18-98) years) were included. 22% were operated and the rate remained constant over the years. The surgical methods shifted from external fixators (42%) and fragment-specific plates (45%) in 2003, to mainly volar locking plates (65%) in 2012. 70% of the patients responded to the 1-year DASH questionnaire. The median DASH score was 9 (IQR: 2-25) for the cohort, both in surgically treated patients (9 (IQR: 3-25)) and in non-surgically treated patients (9 (IQR 2-27)). Subgroup analysis showed a higher median DASH score for women than for men; for patients with AO type C fractures rather than type B or type A fractures; for patients with external fixation or fragment-specific fixation than for those who underwent surgery using volar locking plates; and for patients who were operated by a general orthopedic surgeon rather than a hand surgeon. Interpretation - The shift in surgical treatment had no influence on the subjective outcome for the cohort.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Orthopedics , Clinical Sciences, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital , Lund.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landgren
authors.affiliation: b Department of Hand Surgery Malmö , Skåne University Hospital , Malmö.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abramo
authors.affiliation: c Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, and Faculty of Medicine and Health , Örebro University , Örebro , Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geijer
authors.affiliation: a Department of Orthopedics , Clinical Sciences, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital , Lund.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kopylov
authors.affiliation: a Department of Orthopedics , Clinical Sciences, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital , Lund.|b Department of Hand Surgery Malmö , Skåne University Hospital , Malmö.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tägil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D016267:External Fixators; D005260:Female; D005592:Fracture Fixation; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011885:Radius Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D012042:Registries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult