Assessment of functional outcomes in late presenting elderly patients with unstable distal radius fractures by cast application: A prospective study
Keywords:
Colles, conservative, distal radius, elderly, low demand, patient related wrist evaluationAbstract
Aim: We will evaluate the functional outcomes in elderly patients with unstable distal end radius fractures who were not willing for operative treatment and were managed conservatively with cast application.
Background: Despite 200 years of medical literature proving the complexity and non-solved problems in treating distal radius fractures, in no other fracture, intra-articular mal-union, and metaphyseal mal-alignment is so broadly accepted.
Materials and Methods: 30 elderly patients with unstable distal radius fractures with mean age of 57.1 years were managed conservatively and observed for an average period of 6 months, and functional and radiological outcomes were assessed.
Results: Patient related wrist evaluation system showed all groups had minimal functional disability. Radiological assessment by Sarmiento et al. modification of Lidstorm’s scoring showed that 33.3% patients in Group 1A had poor radiographic scores, 50% patients in Group 1B had good radiographic scores whereas, in Group 2, 53.3% patients had fair radiographic scores. Functional results were not found to be correlated with radiological outcomes.
Conclusion: In elderly patients, patients having low functional demands or patients presenting to us late and not willing for any surgical treatment, mal-alignment, and articular incongruence can be accepted, as radiological outcomes in this study does not correlate with the functional outcomes.
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