Skyline view versus intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy for dorsal screw protrusion identification following volar plating in the treatment of distal radial fracture.

BACKGROUND

Dorsal screw protrusion can lead to complications such as extensor pollicis longus (EPL) tear or rupture after volar locking plate (VLP) fixation. Previous studies displayed that intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy and skyline view had similar diagnostic accuracy. This study investigated the efficacy of intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy compared to skyline view for detecting dorsal cortex screw protrusion in VLP procedures for unstable intra-articular distal radius fractures (DRF). We used postoperative computed tomography (CT) to assess the efficacy and addressed the limitations of previous methods in evaluating screw penetration accurately.

METHODS

We utilized the ICUC database, a prospective cohort of patients with surgically treated DRF, to collect cases with available images, including skyline views, intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy, and postoperative CT scans. The postoperative CT confirmed whether the screw protruded through the dorsal cortex. The interrater reliability was assessed using Cohen's Kappa, and a diagnostic test was utilized to compare the two intraoperative imaging modalities.

RESULTS

Twenty-one unstable DRFs were included in the study. The agreement between skyline view and postoperative CT was moderate agreement, with a kappa value of 0.481 (95% CI: 0.297-0.652, N = 84), identifying 10 uncertain, 56 shorter screws, and 18 screw penetrations. Intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy demonstrated almost perfect agreement with postoperative CT, with a kappa of 0.839 (95% CI: 0.703-0.975, N = 84), identifying 62 shorter screws and 22 screw penetrations. The sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy in detecting dorsal screw protrusion were 81.8% and 98.4%, respectively, while the skyline view's sensitivity and specificity were 72.2% and 90.9%.

CONCLUSION

3D fluoroscopy offers an almost perfect evaluation, whereas the skyline views provide only moderate agreement. 3D fluoroscopy could reduce cumulative radiation exposure of surgeon and patient compared to skyline view. Clinically, 3D fluoroscopy would be beneficial for surgeons to evaluate dorsal screw protrusion precisely and safely.