Published in:
01-10-2018 | Original Article
Epidemiology of clavicle fractures in a level 1 trauma center in Belgium
Published in: European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery | Issue 5/2018
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Purpose
In the last 10 years, there has been an increasing tendency toward operative fixation of clavicle fractures. In this retrospective analysis, we will demographically assess all patients who sustained a clavicle fracture and were treated in our university hospital between 2004 and 2014.
Methods
We retrospectively updated our database and analyzed all adult patients who were diagnosed with a clavicle fracture in our hospital. The following parameters were included in the database: age, gender, Robinson classification, date of trauma, injury mechanism, time until surgery, and reason for delayed surgery. Descriptive statistics were used to describe differences between patient groups and linear regression was performed to identify trends over time.
Results
667 patients were included for analysis. The mean age was 43 ± 17.7 years. The majority of clavicle fractures occurred due to bicycle injuries (35.3%) and these increased from 2004 until 2014 (r = 0.738, R² = 0.545, p = 0.009). Patients with a midshaft clavicle fracture were increasingly treated primarily surgically (r = 0.928, R² = 0.861, p < 0.0001). There was an increased ratio of delayed surgery in relation to age from the age of 16 (9.1%) until the age of 70 years (37.2%).
Conclusions
There is an increasing number of fractures sustained by bicycle accidents and an increasing number of patients undergoing operative treatment. Middle-aged patients more often had delayed surgery compared with young adult patients. This could be due to an increased activity level of the elder population and the concomitant demand for a faster return to activities.
Level of evidence
III, retrospective comparative study.