Evaluating the contribution of CT evaluation for wrist tenderness after trauma with orthopedic surgeon perspective

Objectives: In recent years, great advances have been made in the treatment of distal radius fractures. More treatment options have revealed the necessity to reveal the fracture pattern clearly before surgery. Therefore, many CT-based studies have been conducted examining articular extension and fracture pattern. All of these studies included cases with distal radius fractures. Evaluating the contribution of CT to guide diagnosis and treatment in suspected distal radius fracture has not studied in detail. We retrospectively examined patients who were evaluated in the emergency service and outpatient clinic after trauma and underwent CT for sensitivity in the distal radius. We aimed to evaluate whether the CT examination contributes to the diagnosis and treatment selection. Methods: Patients who were evaluated with x-ray and CT after tenderness in the distal radius between February 2005 and December 2019 were included in the study. Radiological examinations of the patients were evaluated by two different evaluators. After the evaluation, interpersonal and intrapersonal validity of diagnostic modalities were analysed. Results: It was observed that intra-observer and inter-observer reliability was acceptable in the evaluation by direct radiography and CT technique. (p 0.001). Conclusion: When evaluated in terms of fracture classification and treatment selection, a significant diagnosis-surgical decision change cannot occur with the CT technique in this patient group. Since its contribution to the diagnosis and treatment plan is limited, evaluation with CT should be limited as much as possible.