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Forecasting effects of “fast-tracks” for surgery in the Swedish national guidelines for distal radius fractures

Schmidt, Viktor ; Navarro, Cecilia Mellstrand ; Ottosson, Marcus ; Tägil, Magnus LU ; Christersson, Albert ; Engquist, Markus ; Sayed-Noor, Arkan ; Mukka, Sebastian and Wadsten, Mats (2022) In PLoS ONE 17(2 February).
Abstract

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... (More)

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.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
17
issue
2 February
article number
e0260296
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:35143508
  • scopus:85124387217
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0260296
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
05659c15-c640-4950-b2e1-e1af46a90b35
date added to LUP
2023-01-19 13:48:18
date last changed
2024-07-12 01:47:58
@article{05659c15-c640-4950-b2e1-e1af46a90b35,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Schmidt, Viktor and Navarro, Cecilia Mellstrand and Ottosson, Marcus and Tägil, Magnus and Christersson, Albert and Engquist, Markus and Sayed-Noor, Arkan and Mukka, Sebastian and Wadsten, Mats}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2 February}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Forecasting effects of “fast-tracks” for surgery in the Swedish national guidelines for distal radius fractures}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260296}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0260296}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}