TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact on time between injury and semi-acute surgery for hand fractures after virtual fracture clinic implementation
AU - Salentijn, D.A.
AU - Willinge, Gijs J. A.
AU - Dijkgraaf, Marcel G. W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - The aim of this before-and-after study was to evaluate the implementation of a virtual fracture clinic (VFC) on the time between injury and surgery in patients presenting with a phalangeal or metacarpal fracture and in need of semi-acute surgical treatment. Between 1 January and 30 September 2018 (pre-VFC) and in the same period in 2022 (VFC), 101 and 113 patients were included, respectively. Before VCF implementation, the time between injury and surgery was 8.9 days (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.1 to 9.6), while after VCF implementation it was 7.6 days (95% CI: 7.0 to 8.3). In 2018, 7% of operations were unacceptably delayed beyond 14 days from injury, which was reduced to 5% in 2022, despite patient-presentation delays of up to 10 days. VFC implementation was associated with a reduction in time until semi-acute surgery for phalangeal or metacarpal fractures and improved the quality of semi-acute surgery planning.
AB - The aim of this before-and-after study was to evaluate the implementation of a virtual fracture clinic (VFC) on the time between injury and surgery in patients presenting with a phalangeal or metacarpal fracture and in need of semi-acute surgical treatment. Between 1 January and 30 September 2018 (pre-VFC) and in the same period in 2022 (VFC), 101 and 113 patients were included, respectively. Before VCF implementation, the time between injury and surgery was 8.9 days (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.1 to 9.6), while after VCF implementation it was 7.6 days (95% CI: 7.0 to 8.3). In 2018, 7% of operations were unacceptably delayed beyond 14 days from injury, which was reduced to 5% in 2022, despite patient-presentation delays of up to 10 days. VFC implementation was associated with a reduction in time until semi-acute surgery for phalangeal or metacarpal fractures and improved the quality of semi-acute surgery planning.
KW - Hand fractures
KW - metacarpal fractures
KW - operative treatment
KW - phalangeal fractures
KW - virtual fracture clinic
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85201800878
U2 - 10.1177/17531934241268976
DO - 10.1177/17531934241268976
M3 - Article
C2 - 39169756
SN - 1753-1934
VL - 50
SP - 169
EP - 177
JO - Journal of hand surgery, European volume
JF - Journal of hand surgery, European volume
IS - 2
ER -