Open AccessA comparative study protocol of external fixation versus volar plate in treating distal radius fracture
Author(s) -
Fuqiang Zhang,
Yang Yang,
Hui Zhang,
Xiangli Luo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1536-5964
pISSN - 0025-7974
DOI - 10.1097/md.0000000000023231
Subject(s) - medicine , wrist , internal fixation , retrospective cohort study , grip strength , distal radius fracture , range of motion , radiography , fixation (population genetics) , surgery , external fixation , trauma center , cohort , external fixator , population , environmental health
Background: The superiority of the open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and external fixation remains uncertain owing to the limited sample size involved in the literature. This retrospective cohort research was implemented for the comparison of the efficiency of ORIF and external fixation utilizing the locked volar plating in treating the intra-articular fractures of distal radius. We hypothesized that compared with the external fixation, ORIF can improve the functional scores and reduce complications. Methods: We conducted a retrospective and single-center cohort trial that was approved by institutional review committee of Gansu Provincial Hospital. From June 2016 to July 2018, in our experiment, 178 patients with intra-articular fractures of the distal radius were recruited. Inclusion criteria in this cohort study were designed as follows: the age of patients is between 18 and 65 years, the patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists level I–III, and with the AO-type C3 or C2 fractures of distal radius confirmed by computed tomography scans, the patients with radiographic clinical follow-up for 1 year or >1 year. The patients participating in the trial would be divided into 2 groups: the patients treated via the external fixation and the patients treated by the ORIF utilizing volar plate. The main functional results were the grip strength and the range of motion of wrist. Radiographic measurement and complications were also evaluated in our study. Results: This study protocol will guide and clarify our assignments, and the final outcomes and conclusion will further enrich the clinical knowledge in the literature. Trial registration: This study protocol was registered in Research Registry (researchregistry6116).