ESTES recommendations regarding distal radius fractures
ESTES · 2026 · Europe
Source and licence
- Authors
- C M Lameijer, M P J Teuben, E A K van Delft et al.
- Title
- ESTES recommendations regarding distal radius fractures
- Journal
- European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 2026
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Changes
- Verbatim excerpts; formatting adapted
Full text retrieved 2026-10-27 from Europe PMC · PMC13160978
Licence statement of the original publication
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This page reproduces excerpts of the original publication; the original is authoritative. It has not been reviewed by a physician, does not state a recommendation of Medelix and does not replace medical advice. The guideline may have been updated since.
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Recommendations
We found no explicitly labelled recommendations in this publication; its recommendations are in the running text of the original.
Abstract
Distal radius fractures (DRFs) account for 15% of all fractures in adults. Optimal treatment of DRFs depend on patient and fracture characteristics. Non- or minimally displaced DRFs can be treated nonoperatively with a cast. Although surgical treatment is becoming more popular, the majority of patients with a DRF are still treated nonoperatively. In addition, these considerations may be different for elderly patients. Conflicting evidence exists on the different aspects of treatment of DRFs. These recommendations regarding distal radius fractures describe considerations regarding diagnostic modalities, associated soft tissue injuries, different treatment options, rehabilitation protocol, considerations for treatment of elderly patients, follow-up decisions and possible complications. The aim is to aid the orthopedic traumasurgeon in decision making and treatment of distal radius fractures.
Contents of the original publication
The section headings of the original.
- Introduction
- Diagnostics and imaging
- Classification
- AO/ASIF classification
- Fernandez classification
- The four corner concept
- Non-operative treatment
- Surgical treatment
- Palmar plating
- Dorsal plating
- External fixator and/or K-wires
- Wrist spanning plate
- Associated soft tissue injuries
- Distal radioulnar joint instability
- Scapholunate ligament injury
- Radiocarpal (sub)luxation
- Rehabilitation
- Outcome and patient expectations
- Implant removal
- Considerations in the elderly patient
- Nonoperative treatment in the elderly
- Surgical treatment in the elderly
- Follow-up in the elderly
- Complications
- Acute complications
- Short term complications
- Long term complications
- Summary
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