ArticleJB & JS open access
Development of Apex Volar Deformity Following Volar Plating of Pediatric Radius Fractures.
Article in JB & JS open access. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Plate fixation in skeletally immature children can cause angular deformity with longitudinal growth even when the plate does not overlie the adjacent physis. While this phenomenon has been described for the distal femur, angular deformity has not been reported following plating in other long bones. The aim of the study was to characterize whether sagittal-plane deformity occurs following volar plating of radius fractures in skeletally immature children and to determine associated risk factors. Methods: A retrospective review of volar plating of acute radius fractures in children with an open distal radius physis at a single institution was completed. In patients with at least 4 months of follow-up, the first radiograph and the last follow-up radiograph were evaluated for any change in sagittal angulation distal to the plate. Demographic information was obtained from the electronic medical record. Linear regression analysis was used to determine if distance from the plate to the physis, follow-up time, age, or coexisting ulnar fracture was predictive of any observed changes in angulation. Results: Sixty-one acute radius fractures treated with volar plating at a mean age of 12.1 years (67% male, 70.5% White, 90.2% non-Hispanic) were included. When analyzing by fracture location, 78% (21/27) of the distal-third radius fractures with appropriate follow-up developed at least 10° of apex volar angular deformity, with 44% (12/27) exhibiting greater than 20°. Middle-third and proximal-third fractures did not exhibit similar degrees of angulation (only 13% [4/30] and 0% [0/4] of included patients developed more than 10° of deformity, respectively). Linear regression analysis revealed distance of the plate to the physis and follow-up time to be strong predictors of angulation (both p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Children with radius fractures, particularly those in the distal-third, treated with a volar plate may develop apex volar angular deformity. While the exact rate of this phenomenon is unclear, these findings underscore the importance of strict surgical indications and vigilant postoperative monitoring beyond fracture healing, and represent a paradigm shift in understanding growth modulation following plating. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.