Radiographic Measurements Following Surgery for Distal Radius Fractures in an Israeli Caucasian Population

Objective:
 Fractures of the distal portion of the radius are the most common fractures in the upper extremity and their incidence is increasing. Despite anatomical reduction of the bones, many patients complain of residual pain. This may be due to concomitant ligamentous injuries that were not addressed during surgery. Radiographic wrist measurements may allow indirect assessment of radiocarpal ligament integrity but their association with clinical outcomes is unclear. Furthermore they differ between normal populations. The purpose of this study was to assess radiographic wrist measurements in an Israeli population and to compare them to the existing values in the literature.

Methods:
 Demographic data, osteoporosis, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) classification of fractures, and radiographical measurements: radial height, radial inclination, ulnar variance, and volar tilt, and d2/w2 ratio were measured and compared.

Results:
 Fifty-three females and 27 males, with a mean age of 64 years old with wrist radiographs following ORIF of DRF were evaluated . Thirteen percent were smokers and 38.5% had a history of osteoporosis. Using the AO classification system, 19 fractures were classified as A2, 10 as A3, 6 as B1, 8 as B2, 13 as B3, 8 as C2, and 9 as C3. The mean values for radial height was 12.35 mm, mean radial inclination was 23.49°, ulnar variance was 1.38°, and volar tilt was 8.70°. The average d2/w2 ratio was 0.42, differing from this measurement in normal wrists but similar to a population following ORIF of DRF (p=0.002).

Conclusion:
 Our population had more osteoporosis than in the literature.
The similarities in the demographics and radiographic deviation from literature values of our populations, gives strong support to the validity of our population’s similarity to other cohorts following ORIF of distal radius fractures.