Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar;49(3):322-328.
doi: 10.1177/17531934231194682. Epub 2023 Sep 8.

Functional outcomes are restored a decade after a distal radius fracture: a prospective long-term follow-up study

Viktor Schmidt  1 , Max Gordon  2 , Anna Petterson  3 , Christian Buttazzoni  3 , Amelia Seimersson  4 , Arkan Sayed-Noor  1   5 , Sebastian Mukka  1 , Mats Wadsten  1
Affiliations

Functional outcomes are restored a decade after a distal radius fracture: a prospective long-term follow-up study

Viktor Schmidt et al. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

We performed an 11-13-year prospective follow-up of patients after a distal radial fracture (DRF) to investigate the association between fracture malunion, radiocarpal osteoarthritis and clinical outcome. In total, 292 patients responded to patient-reported outcome measures; of them, 242 underwent clinical examination. Clinical outcomes improved with time. A decade after fracture, median Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) score was 5, EuroQol Five-dimensions score was 1.0, and range of motion and grip strength were 96% of the contralateral side. Neither osteoarthritis (6%) nor pseudoarthrosis of the ulnar styloid (30%) affected the outcomes. Dorsal tilt, radial inclination, ulnar variance and intra-articular extension did not affect long-term clinical outcomes or the risk of osteoarthritis. Recovery after a DRF is an ongoing process that lasts years. A decade after the injury event, range of motion, grip strength and QuickDASH were recovered to population normal, regardless of radiological outcomes.Level of evidence: II.

Keywords: Distal radius fracture; functional outcomes; grip strength; long-term results; outcomes; patient-reported outcome measure; range of motion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of patients included in the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aasheim T, Finsen V. The DASH and the QuickDASH instruments. Normative values in the general population in Norway. J Hand Surg Eur. 2014, 39: 140–4. - PubMed
    1. Abramo A, Geijer M, Kopylov P, Tägil M. Osteotomy of distal radius fracture malunion using a fast remodeling bone substitute consisting of calcium sulphate and calcium phosphate. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2010, 92: 281–6. - PubMed
    1. Ali M, Brogren E, Wagner P, Atroshi I. Association between distal radial fracture malunion and patient-reported activity limitations: a long-term follow-up. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2018, 100: 633–9. - PubMed
    1. Atroshi I, Gummesson C, Andersson B, Dahlgren E, Johansson A. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) outcome questionnaire: reliability and validity of the Swedish version evaluated in 176 patients. Acta Orthop Scand. 2000, 71: 613–8. - PubMed
    1. Bell KR, Oliver WM, White TO, Molyneux SG, Clement ND, Duckworth AD. QuickDASH and PRWE are not optimal patient-reported outcome measures after distal radial fracture due to ceiling effect: potential implications for future research. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2023. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.22.01213. - PubMed