A Systematic Review of Treatment Interventions for Metacarpal Shaft Fractures in Adults

Journal article

Metacarpal shaft fractures are common hand injuries which predominantly affect younger patients. There is wide variability in their treatment with no consensus on best practice. We performed a systematic review to assess the breadth and quality of available evidence supporting different treatment modalities for metacarpal shaft fractures of the finger digits in adults. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases, in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 1600 records were identified; seven studies fulfilled eligibility criteria and were included. No randomised controlled trials directly comparing surgery to non-surgical treatment were found. One retrospective study compared non-surgical to surgical treatment, while six compared surgical or non-surgical treatments. Considerable heterogeneity between studies along with high or critical risk of bias restricts direct comparison and conclusions. There is a lack of high quality evidence to guide treatment, supporting the need for well-designed, multi-centre trials to identify the most effective and cost-efficient treatment for metacarpal shaft fractures in adults. https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hand HAN

Authors: Taha, RHM; Grindlay, D; Deshmukh, S; Montgomery, A; Davis, TRC

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Hand
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 869-878
• Publication date: 2020-11-30
• DOI: 10.1177/1558944720974363
• EISSN: 1558-9455
• ISSN: 1558-9447
• Language: English
• Keywords: Internal medicine; Randomized controlled trial; Systematic review; Surgery; Meta-analysis; Medicine; Psychological intervention; Physical therapy; MEDLINE; Alternative medicine; Quality of evidence; Modalities; Evidence-based medicine