Distal radius fracture management in elderly patients: a literature review

Distal radius fracture management in elderly patients remains without consensus regarding the appropriate treatment or anticipated outcome. Forty-one studies that included at least 10 patients with a minimum mean age of 65 years and that were indexed in Medline or Embase were reviewed. Treatment methods included pins and plaster, external fixation, K-wires, bone cement, and open reduction and internal fixation with plates. The methodological quality of each study was evaluated through use of a grading scale. Despite study heterogeneity, higher rates of infection were noted with external fixation and K-wire stabilization. Stratifying patients into low-demand and high-demand groups may improve the management of distal radius fractures in elderly patients. In sedentary patients with low demands, functional outcomes are good despite the presence of deformity. Patients with higher demands may benefit from fracture stabilization with locking volar plates. Volar plating with fixed-angle screws may be particularly suitable for elderly patients who may take longer to heal a fracture, be more susceptible to pin-track infection, and demonstrate earlier tendon irritation leading to rupture.