ArticleJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2026
K-wire shows striking advantages to plateosteosynthesis for distal metaphyseal radius fracture in children: a retrospective, two-center study.
Article in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2026. 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
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMetaphyseal distal radius fractures are very common in children. Even though there is a return toward successful conservative treatment, there are still distal radius fractures that require surgical treatment. K-wire osteosynthesis has become the most common surgical procedure. But no gold standard has been defined yet and evidence directly comparing pin and plate fixation in pediatric patients remains limited. Some hospitals prefer plate osteosynthesis for metaphyseal fractures in especially older children. Aim of the study was to compare complications, operative time, radiation exposure, reduction quality, and functional outcomes of K-wire versus plate osteosynthesis in pediatric metaphyseal distal radius fractures.
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed children aged 2-15 years treated for metaphyseal distal radius fractures between 2010 and 2022 at two Level I trauma centers. Demographic, radiographic, and surgical data were extracted from hospital records. Postoperative alignment was measured on early radiographs, and complications were graded using the modified Clavien-Dindo-Sink classification. Secondary outcomes included reduction quality, operative and fluoroscopy times, hospital stay, immobilization, and range of motion.
resultsAmong 554 fractures, 352 (64%) were fixed with K-wires and 202 (36%) with plates. Complications occurred in 11% of K-wire and 20% of plate cases (p = 0.0034); severe events were rare (3% vs. 2.5%, p = 0.09). K-wire fixation was faster (25 (23) vs. 57 (24) min, p < 0.001), dose-area product (107 (294) vs. 172 (220) Gy·cm
conclusionsK-wire osteosynthesis offers a safe, efficient, and minimally invasive option with fewer complications, shorter recovery and shorter radiation exposure time. Plate fixation provides better reduction but higher morbidity and longer surgery, and should be reserved for irreducible fractures or older children with little remodeling potential. However, both methods achieved reliable healing and full functional recovery.
Indexed as
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.