Umeå University's logo

BACKGROUND: Scapula fractures are relatively uncommon, accounting for <1% of all fractures and approximately 3-5% of shoulder girdle fractures. This study comprehensively describes the epidemiology, fracture classification, treatment, and mortality associated with scapula fractures within a large adult Swedish population.

METHODS: This observational study included all patients ≥18 years old at the time of injury with a scapula fracture (ICD S42.1) registered in the Swedish Fracture Register between March 2011 and June 2020. Variables studied were age, sex, and injury mechanism, including energy level, fracture classification, associated fractures, treatment, and mortality.

RESULTS: We included 3,930 patients (mean age 58 years, SD 18, 64% men) with 3,973 scapula fractures. Some 22% of the fractures were caused by high-energy trauma and 21% had at least one associated fracture. High energy-injuries were most common in glenoid neck (44%) and scapular body (35%) fractures. However, same-level falls were the most common cause of glenoid rim (62%) and intra-articular glenoid (55%) fractures. Clavicle fractures (9%) and proximal humerus fractures (5%) were the most commonly associated fractures. The most common fracture types were the glenoid rim (n=1,289, 32%) and scapular body (n=1,098, 28%) fractures. Nonoperative treatment was performed in 81% of patients. Glenoid rim and intra-articular glenoid fractures were treated operatively in over 30% of cases. The mortality rate for the whole cohort was 4% at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS: Scapula fractures are predominately sustained by men. High energetic injuries and associated fractures are present in one in five patients. Nonoperative treatment is chosen in four of five patients, but for some fracture types one in three undergo surgery.

Introduction: Rotator cuff tears (RCTs) are a common source of pain in the shoulder girdle. There is still debate about the optimal treatment for older adults with RCTs. In clinical practice, patients who do not respond well to non-surgical management may still be eligible for operative treatment. In this study, we assessed the outcome of arthroscopic repair of RCTs in patients ≥60 years old.

Material and method: A retrospective case series was conducted to include patients who underwent arthroscopic repair of RCTs from 1 January 2018 to 1 January 2021. The study included individuals aged ≥60 years who had radiologically confirmed RCTs (verified by MRI) and clinical findings including sleep-disturbing pain and reduced range of motion. Preoperative treatment included physiotherapy for at least 6 months and one subacromial corticosteroid injection.

Results: Fifty-three RCTs were treated during the study period. After exclusion because of incomplete documentation, 45 patients remained. The mean age was 66 years and 80% had isolated supraspinatus tears and 25% had variable degrees of fatty infiltration (Goutallier grade 1-3) on MRI examination with positive tangent sign. There were no surgical site infections and three symptomatic re-ruptures (6%). At follow-up, (71%) reported no remaining sleep-disturbing shoulder pain. Abduction improved from 62° to 122°. Flexion improved from 68° to 135°. This study found that people aged 60 years and older who underwent repair of RCTs showed statistically significant clinical improvement in shoulder flexion and abduction with less sleep-disturbing shoulder pain. These encouraging results may contribute to the existing literature, favoring the choice of surgical treatment for symptomatic RCTs in this age group with failed nonoperative treatment.

Conclusion: The arthroscopic repair of RCTs in patients 60 years and older yielded a substantial increase in shoulder flexion and abduction, significantly reducing sleep-disturbing shoulder pain. Postoperative complications were minimal.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Limited research has been conducted on basicervical femoral neck fractures (bFNFs). The importance of displacement in clinical outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to characterize patient demographics, degree of displacement, treatment, treatment failures, and reoperations in a cohort of fractures from the Swedish Fracture Register (SFR).

METHODS: 1,260 fractures in 1,185 individuals ≥ 60 years who had a bFNF registered in the SFR at 6 orthopedic departments from 2011 to 2020 were screened through radiographic review. The final sample included 291 patients with a confirmed bFNF. The medical records of these 291 patients were reviewed. We assessed baseline characteristics, initial fracture dislocation, treatment methods, tip-apex distance, failures, reoperations, and mortality.

RESULTS: The mean age was 82 years (range 60-101, 55% women). 98 (34%) were undisplaced and 193 (66%) displaced. All patients underwent operative treatment. In the undisplaced group 95 (97%) patients received internal fixation (IF) and 3 (3%) had primary hip arthroplasty. In the displaced group 149 (77%) received IF and 41 (21%) had primary hip arthroplasty. 33 (11%) suffered treatment failure. When treating an undisplaced bFNF with IF, only 3 (3%) experienced treatment failure, in contrast to the 24 (16%) failure rate for a displaced bFNF.

CONCLUSION: Undisplaced bFNFs have a low failure rate when treated with IF. For displaced bFNF treated with IF the failure rate is considerably higher. There is a need for further investigation of classification, treatment, and outcome of bFNF.

The most common fracture is the distal radius fracture (DRF). Wrist function is of importance for the ability to perform activities of daily living, work-related tasks and leisure activities. Treatment generally focuses on restoring anatomical alignment and providing adequate rehabilitation.

To improve our knowledge of DRFs, this thesis explores factors affecting clinical and radiological outcomes in the short- and long-term after a DRF.

Paper I analysed the magnitude of radiographic malalignment leading to deterioration in clinical outcomes. Some 366 patients with prospective data were analysed 1 year after fracture. A nonlinear association between radiographic and clinical outcome was found for dorsal tilt. Larger malalignment resulted in increasingly worse outcomes, starting from about 5 degrees of dorsal tilt and progressing with increasing malalignment.

In Paper II, a novel predictor of instability was assessed, namely marginal secondary displacement. The study included 165 patients with prospective data treated non-operatively with complete radiological follow-up and acceptable alignment 10-14 days after injury. Marginal secondary displacement was an important predictor of late displacement with malunion in DRFs. Clinicians should not unequivocally accept general guidelines for alignment. They should also assess the deterioration in fracture alignment at radiographic follow-up and be aware of the potential need for surgery to avoid malunion, even if radiographic measures are within acceptable limits.

Paper III investigated the long-term effects of DRFs in a large prospective study 11 to 13 years post-injury and found that clinical outcomes improve with time. A decade after the fracture, patient-reported function, health-related quality of life, grip strength and range of motion were restored at the group level. Neither osteoarthritis nor pseudoarthrosis of the ulnar styloid affected the outcomes. Dorsal tilt, radial inclination and ulnar variance did not affect long-term clinical outcomes or the risk of osteoarthritis. Recovery after a DRF is an ongoing process lasting years. A decade after injury, recovery was achieved regardless of radiological outcomes.

Paper IV evaluated the potential consequences of the fast-tracks introduced in the Swedish National Guidelines in a retrospective study. Some 1,609 patients with DRFs 4-7 years before the introduction of the national guidelines were studied. The patients' treatment was compared to how they would have been treated had the guidelines been followed. The results suggest that the fast-track treatment pathway will probably i) identify unstable fractures, ii) lead to more patients being treated with early primary surgery and iii) result in delayed primary surgery being avoided in most cases.

To conclude, clinical outcomes are affected by the degree of radiological alignment 1 year after a DRF. However, patients continue to recover over a long period. After a decade, normal function is restored at the group level, irrespective of the radiological outcome. Clinical outcomes at 1 year can most likely be ameliorated by identifying unstable fractures and following protocols promoting early surgery for these fractures.

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.

Purpose: The outcome after a distal radius fracture (DRF) is often evaluated with radiography, clinical examination, and patient-reported outcome measures. However, research has identified associations between psychological factors and outcomes after a DRF. A knowledge gap exists about psychological factors and their potential implications for long-term outcomes after a DRF. The aim of this study was to examine the long-term association between psychological factors and patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: This multicenter investigation included patients aged 15–75 years with closed physes presenting with an acute DRF. Patients who completed a long-term follow-up (after 11–13 years) with patient-reported outcome measures were invited to participate in the study, and surveys measuring psychological factors were sent to the patients.

Results: Two hundred and four patients (70%) completed the follow-up (mean [range] age at injury, 56 [18–75] years; 154 were females [75%]). Multivariable analysis showed that higher age, injury to the dominant hand, and greater pain catastrophizing were associated with an increase in scores on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire.

Conclusions: A decade after sustaining a DRF, patients with higher scores on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale reported inferior outcomes as measured by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale accounts for 13% of the observed variance in Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand. Type of study/level of evidence: Therapeutic level IIb.

BACKGROUND: Several studies of distal radial fractures have investigated final displacement and its association with clinical outcomes. There is still no consensus on the importance of radiographic outcomes, and published studies have not used the same criteria for acceptable alignment. Previous reports have involved the use of linear or dichotomized analyses.

METHODS: The present study included 438 patients who were managed with either reduction and cast immobilization or surgery for the treatment of distal radial fractures. Radiographic outcomes were determined on the basis of radiographs that were made 3 months after the injury. Clinical outcome was determined on the basis of the QuickDASH (an abbreviated version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand [DASH] questionnaire) score, range of motion, and grip strength at 1 year after the injury. Nonlinear relations were analyzed with cubic splines.

RESULTS: Three hundred and sixty-six patients (84%) had both radiographic and clinical follow-up. Seventy patients were lost to follow-up. The mean age was 57 years (range, 18 to 75 years), and 79% of the patients were female. Dorsal tilt was the radiographic parameter that was most strongly associated with the QuickDASH score, grip strength, and range of motion. We found nonlinear relations. Clinical outcomes were found to worsen with increasing dorsal tilt, with the cutoff value being approximately 5°.

CONCLUSIONS: We found that clinical outcomes following distal radial fractures have a nonlinear relationship with dorsal tilt, with worse outcomes being associated with increasing dorsal tilt. The decline in clinical outcome starts at 5°, but there is unlikely to be a noticeable difference in capability as measured with the QuickDASH until 20° of dorsal tilt (based on the minimum clinically important difference) in a population up to 75 years old.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Treatment recommendations in fractures of the distal radius are often based on the degree of displacement and functional demands. The fracture may be within an acceptable radiological range, but a marginal deterioration in alignment then occurs between the initial visit and follow-up. This may pose a risk for late displacement that may require further treatment. We secondarily analysed prospectively collected data and included 165 patients. We found that marginal secondary displacement (odds ratio (OR) 9.7), anterior comminution (OR 8.8), loss of anterior apposition (OR 6.8) and dorsal comminution (OR 2.6) were predictors of late displacement. Marginal secondary displacement is an important predictor of late displacement and malunion in fractures of the distal radius. Clinicians should not unequivocally accept general guidelines on alignment but also assess a deterioration in fracture alignment on radiographic follow-up and be aware of the potential need for surgery to avoid malunion in cases that show early secondary displacement, even when radiographic measures are within acceptable limits.Level of evidence: III.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: National guidelines for treatment of distal radius fractures (DRFs) were presented in Sweden in 2021. In the guidelines, a fast-track is recommended for 4 subgroups of highly unstable DRFs. Regardless of the results of the closed reduction these are recommended for surgery within 1 week of injury. This study aims to evaluate the potential consequences of the newly presented national guidelines on incidence of surgical interventions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 1,609 patients (1,635 DRFs) with primary radiographs after a DRF between 2014 and 2017 at two Swedish hospitals were included in a retrospective cohort study. An estimation was made of the percentage of patients in the historical pre-guidelines cohort, that would have been recommended early primary surgery according to the new national guidelines compared to treatment implemented without the support of these guidelines.

RESULTS: On a strict radiological basis, 32% (516 out of 1635) of DRFs were classified into one of the 4 defined subgroups. At 9-13 days follow-up, cast treatment was converted into delayed primary surgery in 201 cases. Out of these, 56% (112 out of 201) fulfilled the fast-track criteria and would with the new guidelines have been subject to early primary surgery.

INTERPRETATION: The fast-track regimen in the new guidelines, has a high likelihood of identifying the unstable fractures benefitting from early primary surgery. If the proposed Swedish national guidelines for DRF treatment are implemented, a greater proportion of fractures would be treated with early primary surgery, and a delayed surgery avoided in the majority of cases. The potential benefits in relation to possible costs when using the fast-track criteria in every day practice are still unknown.