Epidemiological characteristics of adult cuneiform fractures at the Third Affiliated Hospital to Hebei Medical University from 2003 through 2012

Objective To analyze the epidemiological features and trends of adult cuneiform frac-tures from 2003 through 2012 at our hospital. Methods The clinical data were collected of the adult patients who had been treated for cuneiform fracture between January 2003 and December 2012 at our hos-pital. The fractures were characterized in terms of distributions of gender, age and fracture type of AO clas-sification. The data between January 2003 and December 2007 were assigned into group A and those between January 2008 and December 2012 into group B. The 2 groups were compared to find out the general epi-demiologic characteristics and trends in the recent 10 years. Results A total of 307 patients with 309 cuneiform fractures were included in this study, involving 213 males (214 fractures) and 94 females (95 fractures), with a male to female ratio of 2.27∶1. The fractures predominated in an age range of 21 to 30 years (24.76% ). The most frequent type of single cuneiform fracture was 85-A1 (65.63% ). In group A, there were 134 patients (135 fractures), with a male to female ratio of 2.44∶1 and a mean age of 37.4±13.7 years. In group B, there were 173 patients (174 fractures), with a male to female ratio of 2.15∶1 and a mean age of 41.4±13.1 years. There was no significant difference in the male/female ratio (χ2=0.257, P=0.612), but the difference in the average age was significant between the 2 groups (t=-2.584, P=0.010). The most common AO type of single fracture was type 85-A1 in both groups (56.74% versus 62.30% ). Group B had significantly lower proportions of 85-A1, 85-A2 and 85-A3 than group A, but significantly higher proportions of 85-B1, 85-B2 and 85-B3 than group A (P<0.05). Conclusions Adult cuneiform fracture favored more men than women. Its peak age ranged from 21 to 30 years old. The most common type of single fracture was 85-A1. Compared with the first 5 years, there was no significant change in the male/female ratio, but great increases in the mean age and type B of single fracture during the second 5 years. Key words: Cuneiform bones; Fractures, bone; Epidemiology; Adult