EVALUATION OF DISTAL FOREARM FRACTURES USING THE AO 2018 CLASSIFICATION

OBJECTIVE: Distal forearm fractures are among the most common upper limb fractures in all ages, and many classifications have been proposed to describe them. Recently, a new version of AO/OTA classification was proposed. The aim of this study is to use the AO/OTA 2018 classification to report the epidemiology of distal forearm fractures in adults treated at a single center. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the initial radiographs obtained from cases of distal forearm fractures in an orthopedic emergency room at a single tertiary hospital. RESULTS: Three hundred twenty-two cases were studied, aged 50.35 ± 18.98 years, 55.3% were female and 44.7% were right-sided. Type 2R3A, 2R3B and 2R3C fractures corresponded to 32.3%, 18.0% and 48.4% of the cases, respectively. Distal ulnar fracture was present in 41.9%. There was a correlation between age and sex: 78.3% of the subjects aged under 30 years were male, and 80.6% of those aged over 60 years were female (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The most common type of radial fractures was 2R3C, and the most common type of ulna fracture was 2U3A1.1. There was a correlation between age and sex. Level of evidence IV, Case-series.