Functional outcome in patients with distal radius fractures treated with fragment specific fixation at tertiary care teaching hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Aim of this study was to study the functional outcome in patients with distal radius fractures treated with ORIF with 2.7mm distal radius plates at 6 months using PRWE score. To study how early the patients can resume activities of their daily living and study various complications related to fragment specific fixation. Methodology: It was a prospective study. All the patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation using fragment specific locking plates based on fracture patterns. Patients were followed up regularly up to 6 months post op. Functional outcomes were analyzed after 6 months of fixation using patient rated wrist evaluation score. Results: In our study 84.38% patients were male (n 27) with average age being 38.59 years. Right side was the dominant wrist seen in 56% patients (n 18). Most common mechanism of injury was to road traffic accidents. Average time from injury to surgery was 7.06 days and average PRWE score by the end of 6 months was 16.53. Excellent outcomes were seen in 71.88% patients (n 23), good in 18.75% (n 6). Superficial infection, secondary collapse and stiffness and numbness were most common complications seen in 2 patients each. 31 patients had fracture union within 3 months and 30 patients returned to pre injury level of activities within 6 months. Conclusion: We conclude from our data that among various fixation methods, fragment specific fixation provides stable and reliable fixation with good functional outcomes as shown by excellent PRWE scores.