Inadequate management for secondary fracture prevention in patients with distal radius fracture by trauma surgeons

We evaluated the secondary fracture prevention in 1445 patients with distal radius fracture by trauma surgeons. The rate of patients with distal radius fracture who underwent bone mineral density (BMD) examination was low, suggesting that appropriate treatment for osteoporosis by trauma surgeons is not performed at present. Introduction To clarify the status of osteoporosis interventions after distal radial fractures by trauma surgeons who play the main role in treatment for these fractures, we performed a survey involving multiple institutions in Japan. Methods We asked 155 board members of the Japanese Society for Fracture Repair for their cooperation and performed a survey in 48 institutions with which members who gave cooperation were affiliated. The subjects consisted of consecutive patients with distal radial fractures occurring between January and December 2012. The presence or absence of a diagnosis of osteoporosis and bone mineral density examination after fracture was investigated. Results A total of 1445 patients with distal radial fractures were evaluated in this study. BMD examination for diagnosis and treatment for osteoporosis after fracture was performed respectively in 126 (8.7 %) and 193 (13.4 %) of 1445 patients. Treatment for osteoporosis was performed in 93 (73.8 %) of 126 patients who underwent BMD examination after fracture and 100 (8.2 %) of 1219 who did not undergo BMD examination. Of the 126 patients who underwent BMD examination after fracture, 89 showed a BMD < 80 % of the young adult mean as a criterion for the initiation of drug treatment for osteoporosis in Japan and 77 (86.5 %) of the 89 patients were treated with drugs. Conclusions The rate of patients with distal radial fractures who underwent BMD examination was low, suggesting that appropriate treatment for osteoporosis by trauma surgeons is not performed at present.