Surgical Treatment of Dorsally Displaced Distal Radius Fractures With a Volar Locking Plate Versus Conventional Percutaneous Methods: Minimum Ten-Year Follow-Up of a Randomised Controlled Trial 

Description

The presentation by Sandeep Deshmukh discusses the results of a long-term follow-up study on a randomized controlled trial for dorsally displaced distal radius fractures conducted at a single center in Nottingham. After a decade, the study aimed to evaluate the long-term functional outcomes of two treatment methods: dorsal plate fixation and percutaneous wire fixation. It explored a total of 130 patients, with assessments made at various intervals (3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 1 year) recorded in the original trial.



During the follow-up, a questionnaire was administered to surviving participants, achieving a 61% response rate, which was considered favorable compared to similar studies. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs), including the Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM) and the QuickDASH score over the 10-year period. The study found a consistent absence of significant differences across treatment groups both at the original trial’s conclusion and during the long-term follow-up, highlighting that better anatomical reduction achieved by volar plate fixation did not correlate with improvements in long-term functional outcomes.



Overall, this work addresses the common limitation of trauma research being limited to shorter follow-up periods, contributing valuable insights into the long-term implications of treatment choices in distal radius fracture management.

Specialties