Volar Locking Plating Compared to Conservative Treatment in Distal Radius Fractures in Elderly Patients (>60 years old): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

PURPOSE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy of volar locking plating (VLP) to conservative treatment in distal radius fractures in patients aged >60 years old. METHODS: English articles were searched in electronic databases including MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Embase, Web of science, and ClinicalTrial.gov from inception to October 2020. Relevant article reference lists also were reviewed. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data from trials comparing VLP to nonsurgical treatment in distal radial fractures in the elderly. Starting with 3052 citations, 5 trials (539 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The primary outcomes were disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand, and patient-rated wrist evaluation scores, grip strength, and range of motion. RESULTS: All trials of this random effect meta-analysis were at a moderate risk of bias due to the lack of blinding. Differences in the disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand score (mean difference [MD] −5,91; 95% confidence interval [CI], −8,83; −3,00), patient-rated wrist evaluation score (MD −9.07; 95% CI, −14.57, −3.57), and grip strength (MD 5,12; 95% CI, 0,59–9,65) were statistically significant and favored VLPs, however without reaching clinical significance. No effect was observed in terms of the range of motion and reoperation rates. CONCLUSION: This review was not able to demonstrate any clinical benefit to the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures with VLP in patients aged >60 years old compared to nonsurgical treatment. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic I.