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Vitamin C did not improve distal radius fracture outcomes
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LAS VEGAS — Results presented here showed vitamin C was not associated with improved outcomes after treatment of distal radius fracture.
“Overall, we do not recommend routine vitamin C use after distal radius fracture and, in patients who have difficulty recovering function in digital range of motion, there appears to be some merit in reducing pain and interference possibly through adaptive coping strategies,” Neal C. Chen, MD, said in his presentation at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.
Chen and colleagues randomly assigned 134 patients with distal radius fractures to receive either a 500-mg vitamin C tablet daily or placebo.
“Our primary outcome was fingertip to palmar crease distance at 6 weeks and secondary outcomes included total active finger motion, thumb range of motion at 6 weeks and [patient-reported outcome measures] PROMs upper extremity score and [numerical rating scale] NRS pain scores at 6 weeks and 6 months,” Chen said.
He noted they collected measurements and questionnaire data within 2 weeks after the fracture, at 5 to 8 weeks after fracture and at 5 to 8 months after fracture.
Results showed no differences in any of the outcome measures between patients who did and those who did not receive vitamin C.
“For our secondary question, factors independently associated with outcome, we found that age was associated with lower finger range of motion at 6 weeks, as well as thumb range of motion at 6 weeks, choosing nonoperative treatment was associated with diminished thumb range of motion at 6 weeks and higher pain interference scores were associated with lower PROMs upper extremity scores at 6 weeks and 6 months,” Chen said. – by Casey Tingle
Reference:
Chen NC, et al. Abstract 2. Presented at: American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting; Sept. 5-7, 2019; Las Vegas.
Disclosure: Chen reports he receives other financial or material support from Acumed LLC, Omega and Skeletal Dynamics; receives research support from Acumed LLC and DePuy; and receives IP royalties and is a paid consultant for Miami Device Solutions.