Back to 2026 ePosters
Factors effecting Orthopaedic Surgery Follow up after Presentation to the Emergency Department with a Distal Radius Fracture
Abir Arab, BS
1, Anuj Mehta, MD
2, Raj Patel, MD
2; Saqib Rehman, MD
2(1)Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, (2)Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
IntroductionDistal radius fractures are one of the most common fractures seen in the emergency department (ED) and are regularly discharged with outpatient follow up. Over the last 10 years there has been an increasing trend towards operative management of distal radius fractures. As a result, timely follow up of these patients is of paramount importance. Loss to follow up has shown to disproportionately affect vulnerable patient populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate risk factors that potentially impact timely patient follow-up following distal radius fractures presenting to the emergency department.
Materials & Methods A retrospective chart review of patients presenting to the ED with an isolated distal radius fracture between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2022 were identified using ICD-10 codes. Data collected included patient demographics, substance use history, presence of a contact number or alternative contact number, orthopaedic surgery consultation, laterality of injury, mechanism of injury and responses to social determinants of health (SDH) questionnaire. Patients were stratified into 3 groups: follow-up <7 days, follow up >7 days and no follow up. Patients who had multiple injuries or were admitted to the hospital were excluded from this study. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors that played a significant role in patient follow up.
ResultsA total of 310 patient were included. Univariate analysis for time to follow up showed that patients facing housing insecurity risk were less likely to follow up in a timely manner (p=0.034). Additionally, male patients (p=0.003) and patients with assault as a mechanism of injury (p=0.022) were less likely to follow up. Patients with low risk for childcare (p=0.046) and employment insecurity (p=0.046) were more likely to follow up in a timely manner. Having an alternate contact person (p=0.028) and fall as a mechanism of injury (p=0.003) proved to be a protective factor for patients to follow-up. Substance use history, orthopaedic consult while in the ED, and English as primary language was not associated with loss to follow up in our study.
ConclusionThis study found that male gender, mechanism of injury, SDH factors (housing risk, childcare risk, and employment risk), and having an alternate contact person all played a role in timely follow up after presenting to the ED for a distal radius fracture. Identifying these at-risk patients can be important and incorporating protective measures can potentially improve patient care and follow up.
Back to 2026 ePosters
