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QuickDASH Scores Do Not Differ between Dominant vs. Non-Dominant Sided Upper Extremity Injuries: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Calvin Wang, BS
1, Anirudh Kulkarni, BS
2, Maryam Zafar, BS
2, Julia Fekete, BS
2, Thomas Doss, BS
2, Jomar Aryee, MD
2, David Kirschenbaum, M.D.
1; Brian Katt, MD
1(1)Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, (2)Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ
Introduction: The QuickDASH (qDASH) outcome measure is an 11-item questionnaire administered to track levels of functional improvement amongst patients suffering from an upper extremity injury. It asks patients to rate the difficulty of various activities (e.g., opening a jar, turning a key). To date, no consensus exists regarding whether different rates of qDASH score improvement exist between dominant-sided vs. non-dominant-sided injuries, and whether qDASH score improvement differs based on the site of injury (e.g., shoulder vs. wrist). The purpose of this study is to determine whether involvement of the dominant vs. non-dominant upper limb affects qDASH scores, and whether the degree of improvement differs by region along the upper extremity.
Methods: A retrospective sample of 3,424 patients requiring upper extremity surgery between March 2020 and March 2025 were evaluated to identify improvements in qDASH scores from preoperative visits up through 6 months post-operation. Patients were characterized by a proximal injury group (shoulder and elbow) and a distal injury group (hand and wrist).
Results: Patients were assessed for qDASH scores at preoperation, 3 months post-operation, and 6 months post-operation. At each time point, no statistically significant difference in score was observed between dominant-sided and non-dominant-sided patients, both in the shoulder/elbow subgroup and in the hand/wrist subgroup. When examining the amount of improvement in qDASH scores from preoperation to 6 months post-operation, no statistically or clinically significant difference was seen in dominant-sided vs. non-dominant-sided patients across the shoulder/elbow subgroup (p = 0.409) and the hand/wrist subgroup (p = 0.262).
Conclusion: QuickDASH score improvement at 6 months post-operation is not significantly different between dominant-sided and non-dominant-sided upper extremity injuries. Moreover, neither proximal nor distal injury groups suggested worse recovery in dominant-sided patients.
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