Below-elbow or above-elbow cast for conservative treatment of extra-articular distal radius fractures with dorsal displa

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(2019) 14:477

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Open Access

Below-elbow or above-elbow cast for conservative treatment of extra-articular distal radius fractures with dorsal displacement: a prospective randomized trial Gaetano Caruso1,2* , Francesco Tonon1,3, Alessandro Gildone1, Mattia Andreotti1,3, Roberto Altavilla1, Alessandra Valentini4, Giorgia Valpiani5 and Leo Massari1,2

Abstract Background: Distal radial fractures are common traumatic injuries, but their management remains controversial also in case of conservative treatment regarding the type of immobilisation. Hence, we conducted a two-arm, parallel-group, prospective randomised trial to compare the capacity of long casts (above-elbow) and short casts (below-elbow) to maintain the reduction of extra-articular distal radius fractures with dorsal displacement (AO/OTA classification: 2R3A2.2). Methods: Seventy-four eligible patients with AO/OTA 2R3A2.2 fractures treated with closed reduction and cast immobilisation were randomised to the long cast group (n°= 37) or to the short cast group (n°= 37). Baseline radiological parameters, radial inclination (RI), radial height (RH), ulnar variance (UV) and palmar tilt (PT) were taken, and compared with clinical (DASH, Mayo Wrist and Mayo Elbow) and radiological scores taken at 7–10 days, 4 weeks and 12 weeks. Furthermore, to evaluate correlations between radiological parameters and functional outcomes, patients were divided into two groups according to whether or not their radiological parameters at Followups 2 and 3 were acceptable, i.e. within the range 11–12 mm for RH, 16°–28° for RI, − 4–+ 2 mm for UV and 0°–22° for PT. Results: Patient demographic and baseline radiological parameters were similar between groups. At follow-up, there were no statistically significant differences between the two types of cast in terms of RI, RH, UV or PT, or Mayo wrist or DASH scores. Short cast group patients displayed better Mayo elbow score at follow-up 2 (4 weeks), but this difference was no longer statistically significant at follow-up 3 (12 weeks). No statistically significant differences in clinical outcomes were found between patients who presented acceptable radiographic parameters at follow-up and those who did not. (Continued on next page)

* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Orthopedic and Traumatology Unit, Sant’Anna University Hospital of Ferrara, Via Aldo Moro 8, 44124 Cona, Ferrara, Italy 2 Department of Biomedical and Speciality Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Pub