Surgical site infections after distal radius fracture surgery: a nation-wide cohort study of 31,807 adult patients.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSI) after distal radius fracture (DRF) surgery have not previously been studied as the primary outcome in a large population with comparative data for different surgical methods. The aims of this study were 1) to compare SSI rates between plate fixation, percutaneous pinning and external fixation, and 2) to study factors associated with SSI. METHODS: We performed a nation-wide cohort study linking data from the Swedish national patient register (NPR) with the Swedish prescribed drug register (SPDR). We included all patients ≥18 years with a registration of a surgically treated DRF in the NPR between 2006 and 2013. The primary outcome was a registration in the SPDR of a dispensed prescription of peroral Flucloxacillin and/or Clindamycin within the first 8 weeks following surgery, which was used as a proxy for an SSI. The SSI rates for the three main surgical methods were calculated. Logistic regression was used to study the association between surgical method and the primary outcome, adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, fracture type (closed/open), and a dispensed prescription of Flucloxacillin and/or Clindamycin 0-8 weeks prior to DRF surgery. A classification tree analysis was performed to study which factors were associated with SSI. RESULTS: A total of 31,807 patients with a surgically treated DRF were included. The proportion of patients with an SSI was 5% (n = 1110/21,348) among patients treated with plate fixation, 12% (n = 754/6198) among patients treated with percutaneous pinning, and 28% (n = 1180/4261) among patients treated with external fixation. After adjustment for potential confounders, the surgical method most strongly associated with SSI was external fixation (aOR 6.9 (95% CI 6.2-7.5, p < 0.001)), followed by percutaneous pinning (aOR 2.7 (95% CI 2.4-3.0, p < 0.001)) (reference: plate fixation). The classification tree analysis showed that surgical method, fracture type (closed/open), age and sex were factors associated with SSI. CONCLUSIONS: The SSI rate was highest after external fixation and lowest after plate fixation. The results may be useful for estimation of SSI burdens after DRF surgery on a population basis. For the physician, they may be useful for  estimating the likelihood of SSI in individual patients.

Epidemiology, classification, treatment and mortality of distal radius fractures in adults: an observational study of 23,394 fractures from the national Swedish fracture register.

BACKGROUND: Distal radius fractures are the most common of all fractures. Optimal treatment is still debated. Previous studies report substantial changes in treatment trends in recent decades. Few nation-wide studies on distal radius fracture epidemiology and treatment exist, none of which provide detailed data on patient and injury characteristics, fracture pattern and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology, fracture classification, current treatment regimens and mortality of distal radius fractures in adults within the context of a large national register study. METHODS: We performed a descriptive study using prospectively registered data from the Swedish fracture register. Included were all non-pathological distal radius fractures registered between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2017 in patients aged 18 years and above. Nominal variables were presented as proportions of all registered fractures. RESULTS: A total of 23,394 distal radius fractures in 22,962 patients were identified. The mean age was 62.7 ± 17.6 years for all, 65.4 ± 16.0 for women and 53.6 ± 20.0 for men. A simple fall was the most common cause of injury (75%, n = 17,643/23,394). One third (33%, n = 7783/21,723) of all fractures occurred at the patients' residence. 65% (n = 15,178/23,394) of all fractures were classified as extra-articular AO-23-A, 12% (n = 2770/23,394) as partially intra-articular AO-23-B and 23% (n = 5446/23,394) as intra-articular AO-23-C. The primary treatment was non-surgical for 74% (n = 17,358/23,369) and surgical for 26% (n = 6011/23,369) of all fractures. Only 18% of the AO-23-A fractures were treated surgically, compared to 48% of the AO-23-C fractures. The most frequently used surgical method was plate fixation (82%, n = 4954/5972), followed by pin/wire fixation (8.2%, n = 490/5972), external fixation (4.8%, n = 289/5972) and other methods (4.0%, n = 239/5972). The overall 30-day mortality was 0.4% (n = 98/23,394) and the 1-year mortality 2.9% (n = 679/23,394). CONCLUSION: This nation-wide observational study provides comprehensive data on the epidemiology, fracture classification and current treatment regimens of distal radius fractures in a western European setting. The most common patient was an eldery woman who sustained a distal radius fracture through a simple fall in her own residence, and whose fracture was extra-articluar and treated non-surgically.

Regional or General Anesthesia in the Surgical Treatment of Distal Radial Fractures: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Most patients undergoing surgery for the treatment of a distal radial fracture are treated in a day-surgery setting and are given either general anesthesia (GA) or regional anesthesia (RA). The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the anesthesia method on patients' postoperative opioid consumption during the first 3 days following surgery. METHODS: This was a single-center randomized clinical trial. A total of 88 patients aged 18 to 74 years who were undergoing day surgery for the treatment of a displaced distal radial fracture with volar-plate fixation were randomized to GA (n = 44) or RA with a supraclavicular brachial plexus blockade (n = 44). The primary outcome was total opioid equivalent consumption (OEC) during the first 3 postoperative days (72 hours). Secondary outcomes included OEC during days 1, 2, and 3, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain scores, maximum pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting, perioperative time consumption (surgical, preoperative, and postoperative anesthesia care time), functional outcomes, and Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) and EuroQol-5 Dimensions-3 Levels (EQ-5D-3L) scores up to 6 months. RESULTS: The total median OEC during the first 3 postoperative days was 85 mg (range, 0 to 218 mg) in the GA group and 60 mg (range, 3 to 150 mg) in the RA group (p = 0.1). The groups differed significantly in OEC and VAS for pain scores during the first 24 hours after surgery; the median OEC was higher in the GA group before discharge (p < 0.001), while it was higher in the RA group after discharge (p < 0.001). Patients in the GA group reported more pain immediately after surgery (median score, 6; width of interquartile range [IQR], 7) and at 2 hours postoperatively (median score, 2; width of IQR, 3) compared with patients in the RA group (median score, 0; width of IQR, 0 at both time points) (p < 0.001). Maximum pain occurred at a median of 1 hour (range, 1 hour to 22 hours) after the end of surgery in the GA group compared with a median of 11 hours (range, 1 hour to 24 hours) in the RA group (p < 0.001). The total median perioperative time consumption was 244 minutes (range, 114 to 389 minutes) in the GA group compared with 146 minutes (range, 74 to 390 minutes) in the RA group (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in functional outcomes or PRWE or EQ-5D-3L scores at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The anesthesia method (GA vs. RA) significantly influenced the early patterns of postoperative pain and opioid consumption after surgical treatment of a distal radial fracture, but neither total OEC over the first 3 postoperative days nor longer-term outcomes differed between the groups. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Responsiveness of EQ-5D in Patients With a Distal Radius Fracture.

BACKGROUND: The EuroQol Group 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire is frequently used as an outcome measure of general patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We evaluated the internal and external responsiveness of EQ-5D (specifically EQ-5Dindex score) in patients with a surgically treated distal radius fracture. METHODS: Within the context of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 132 patients with a surgically treated distal radius fracture filled out EQ-5D and Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE-Swe) at baseline (preinjury state), and at 3 and 12 months. Internal responsiveness was evaluated by calculating mean change score and standardized response mean (SRM) of the EQ-5Dindex scores. External responsiveness was evaluated with PRWE-Swe as the external criterion. PRWE-Swe was used to define 4 subgroups of patients with different clinical outcomes. The ability of EQ-5Dindex change score to discriminate between these subgroups was analyzed with logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and area under the ROC curves (AUROCs). Correlation analysis was made with Spearman's ρ test. RESULTS: The mean change in EQ-5Dindex score from baseline to the 3-month follow-up was -16.1 and from the 3- to the 12-month follow-up was 7.6. The corresponding SRMs were large (0.93) and small to moderate (0.47). Analysis of external responsiveness displayed odds ratios >1 and AUROCs between 0.70 and 0.76 in all 4 subgroups. The proportion of patients correctly classified into the 4 subgroups by the EQ-5Dindex change scores was 78% to 94%. Spearman's ρ was 0.35. CONCLUSION: EQ-5D displayed an overall acceptable to good responsiveness in patients with a distal radius fracture. It may thus be used as a measure of HRQoL in this patient group.

Internal fixation of garden I and II femoral neck fractures: posterior tilt did not influence the reoperation rate in 382 consecutive hips followed for a minimum of 5 years.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze factors influencing the reoperation rate due to fracture healing complications after internal fixation of Garden I and II femoral neck fractures with special reference to a new validated method assessing the preoperative posterior tilt on lateral radiographs. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Level II trauma center. PATIENTS: A consecutive cohort of 382 hips in 379 patients who underwent internal fixation for a Garden I or II femoral neck fracture. INTERVENTION: The posterior tilt in preoperative radiographs was analyzed with a new validated method. A Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate factors associated with reoperation due to fracture healing complications. Age, gender, cognitive function, ASA classification, time to surgery, and the posterior tilt were tested as independent factors in the model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reoperation rate due to fracture healing complications with a minimal follow-up of 5 years. Reoperation data were validated against the National Board of Health and Welfare's national registry using unique Swedish personal identification numbers. RESULTS: The overall reoperation rate was 19% (72 of 382 hips) and the reoperation rate due to fracture healing complications was 12% (45 of 382 hips). The posterior tilt had no influence on the risk for reoperation due to fracture healing complication, nor had the age, gender, cognitive function, ASA classification, or the time to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative posterior tilt measurement on lateral radiographs cannot be used as a discriminator for fracture healing complications in Garden I and II femoral neck fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.