The use of adhesive elastic tape for hand oedema control in patients with a wrist fracture treated in a cast: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND

The adhesive elastic tape use is indicated for controlling oedema, although currently there is not the definitive evidence regarding its effectiveness. Wrist fractures are a frequent occurrence, often leading to oedema development in patients treated with forearm casts. This pilot study aims to investigate the effects of elastic tape in controlling hand oedema among patients with forearm casts for wrist fractures and the feasibility of a future randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

The study was conducted on adult patients with unilateral conservatively treated wrist fracture. The tape was applied to the intervention group after cast application, while the control group received the standard treatment. The circumference difference between baseline and the 7-day follow-up of both the 1st finger and the remaining 4 fingers merged together was evaluated. Ethical approval for the study has been obtained.

RESULTS

23 participants were enrolled. The intervention group showed a higher reduction in finger circumferences compared to the control group (median difference T1-T0 No tape vs Tape: 0 cm vs -0.2 cm for the 1st finger and 0.5 cm vs -0.5 cm for the remaining 4 fingers), although the changes were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Although the number of enrolled patients was limited due to Covid-19 pandemic, the study results suggest a potential reduction in oedema after the use of adhesive elastic tape, justifying the needed of a future full-scale study. Given its low cost and ease of use, we believe that tape can be considered in clinical practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04683887.