ArticleIrish journal of medical science2022
Virtual fracture clinic reduces patient X-ray volume for common wrist and ankle fractures.
Article in Irish journal of medical science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The impact on time between injury and semi-acute surgery for hand fractures after virtual fracture clinic implementation.The Journal of hand surgery, European volume · 2025Article
- Patients' experiences of a Virtual Fracture Assessment Clinic Pathway: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Trends in Orthopedic Management of Distal Radius Fractures Among Medicare Beneficiaries From 2019 to 2020: A Claims Analysis.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVirtual fracture clinics (VFC) have been widely adopted worldwide as part of the changes in healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been shown to be a safe and effective method of delivering trauma care for injuries which do not require immediate intervention or specialist management, whilst maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction.
aimsOur aim was to evaluate whether VFCs reduce the volume of X-rays performed for common fractures of the wrist and ankle.
methodsA retrospective cohort review was performed. The pre-VFC group consisted of 168 wrist and 108 ankle referrals from March to September 2019. The VFC group included 75 wrist and 68 ankle referrals, during the period March to September 2020. The total number of X-ray images, carried out within a 3-month period for each fracture was summated, with statistical analysis performed following fracture pattern classification.
findingsA statistically significant decrease in mean X-rays was observed for isolated stable fracture patterns, such as non-displaced distal radius, - 0.976 (p = 0.00025), and Weber A ankle fractures, - 0.907 (p = 0.000013). A reduction was also observed for more complex fracture patterns such as dorsally displaced distal radius, - 0.701 (p = 0.129) and Weber B ankle fractures, - 0.786 (p = 0.235), though not achieving statistical significance.
conclusionsVirtual fracture clinics can reduce X-ray frequency for common stable wrist and ankle fractures, with resultant benefits for both patients and healthcare systems. These benefits may be sustained in patient care beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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