998 Distal Radius Fractures – Assessing Time to Surgery

Abstract Background The British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma (BOAST guidelines) recommend that intra-articular distal radius fractures should be operated within 3 days and extra-articular fractures within 7 days of a decision to operate (1). Aim The objectives of this audit were to assess compliance with BOAST guidelines for operative management of distal radius fractures within a local trauma unit. Method Three audit cycles were completed between 2018 and 2021 over 3 -4-month periods. The second and third cycles were completed after elective orthopaedic cases were moved to an elective orthopaedic centre, and commencement of a weekly half day dedicated hand trauma list. All skeletally mature patients with acute distal radius fractures were included. Results Despite the addition of a dedicated hand trauma list and elective services moving to a dedicated site, compliance with BOAST guidelines remained almost unchanged. Compliance was at 100% for extra-articular fractures. However, for intra-articular fractures, compliance only slightly improved from 50 % to 53.3%. The average time to surgery improved from 4.25 days to 3.66 days for intra-articular fractures. Average time to surgery for extra-articular fractures was 3 days. Proposed reasons for delay included lack of trauma theatre time, prioritisation of other urgent cases such as femur fractures and lack of appropriate surgeon. Conclusions No distinction was being made to prioritise intra-articular distal radius fractures over extra-articular fractures for surgery. Trauma and Orthopaedic (T&O) staff have been educated and changes made to the T&O department’s trauma database to resolve this.