Long-term outcome for patients with distal radius fractures treated with volar locking plates versus percutaneous wires.

BACKGROUND

Fractures of the distal radius are the most common fractures of the upper extremity. The choice of surgical method has been debated and studies show that short-term differences, in favour of volar locking plates, are indistinguishable at 1 year follow-up. Few studies have investigated long-term outcomes beyond one year. The aim of this study was to investigate long-term (6-10 years) patient-reported outcomes after distal radius fracture surgery, and to determine how fracture pattern/complexity (Buttazzoni fracture type) affects the results.

METHODS

303 patients surgically treated for a distal radius fracture, from 2012-2016 were included. The questionnaires used were PRWE, Quick-DASH and EQ-5D. Previous studies have shown that fracture type influences the choice of surgical method and therefore fracture type was adjusted for in the statistical analysis.

RESULTS

We found that patients treated with K-wires had significantly better Quick-DASH scores (p <0.05) and a lower degree of pain (PRWE pain scale) (p <0.05) than patients treated with volar locking plates. There was no difference between the two groups regarding the remaining outcome measures for any Buttazzoni type of fracture.

CONCLUSION

On the basis of these results, K-wires can be considered an equivalent option to locking plates because of equal or better long-term outcomes, lower costs, and shorter operation times.