RESEARCH ARTICLE


Long-Term Outcomes after Colton Type I and II Fractures of the Olecranon



Thord von Schewelov1, Fredrik Hertervig1, Per-Olof Josefsson1, Jack Besjakov1, Ralph Hasserius1, *
1 Departments of Orthopaedics and Radiology, Skane University Hospital, Scania, Sweden
2 Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmo, Sweden


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Creative Commons License
© 2019 Schewelov et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Departments of Orthopaedics and Radiology, Skane University Hospital, Scania, Sweden; Tel: +46 40 331000; Fax: +46 40 331000; E-mail: ralph.hasserius@skane.se


Abstract

Background:

It is unclear if the outcomes differ in different subtypes of olecranon fractures.

Objective:

Evaluate the outcomes of different Colton types of olecranon fractures, and if outcomes differ in dominant and non-dominant arms and in men and women.

Methods:

We evaluated primary journals and radiographs in 40 men and 55 women with isolated olecranon fractures and classified fractures according to Colton. Mean 19 years after fracture event, we re-examined subjective, clinical and radiographic outcomes in the former patients, using the uninjured arms as controls.

Results:

89% of patients with Colton type I fractures reported at follow-up no subjective differences between the elbows, 84% with type II oblique/transverse fractures and 84% with type II comminuted fractures (p=0.91). The uninjured to former fractured arm differences in elbow range of motion and strength were no different in the 3 fracture types, the proportions of individuals with radiographic elbow degenerative changes were greater in type II than in type I factures (p<0.001), and there were no differences between the proportions of individuals with reduced joint space in the 3 groups (p=0.40). The outcomes were no different if the fractures had occurred in the dominant or non-dominant arms (p=0.43), or in men or women (p=0.43).

Conclusion:

There were no different outcomes after Colton type I, type II oblique/transverse or type II comminuted fractures, no different outcomes between fractures in dominant or non-dominant arms and no different outcomes in men and women.

Keywords: Colton, Fracture, Men, Objective, Olecranon, Radiographic, Subjective, Women.