Comparison of conservative and operative treatment for distal radius fracture: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Background: The authors conducted a meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness and safety of conservative and operative treatment for distal radius fracture.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify the relevant studies published up to February of 2015. All randomized controlled trials published to compare the conservative and operative treatment were included in the study. Results were pooled using meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of conservative and operative treatment for distal radius fracture.

Results: The databases were derived from seven qualified studies that included a total of 523 patients in which 269 cases adopted conservative treatment while 253 cases adopted operative treatment. Overall, compared with the conservative treatment- treated the distal radius fracture, operative therapies resulted in significantly better radiographic (P<0.05), however, no significant differences of the functional outcomes and complication rate were observed between the two methods (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Surgical treatment seems to be more effective distal radius fracture compared with conservative treatment when the radiographic outcomes were analyzed, and no significant differences were deteched in the functional outcomes and complication rate.

Keywords: Distal radius fracture; conservative treatment; operative treatment; randomized controlled trials.

Figures

Figure 1

Flowchart for literature search process.

Figure 2

Forest plot of radial inclination for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 3

Forest plot of palmar inclination for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 4

Forest plot of ulnar variance for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 5

Forest plot of radial deviation for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 6

Forest plot of ulnar deviation for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 7

Forest plot of palmar flexion for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 8

Forest plot of dorsal extension for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 9

Forest plot of DASH scores for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 10

Forest plot of grip strength for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 11

Forest plot of complication rate for conservative and operative treatment.

Figure 12

Funnel plot of the publication bias.