Analysis of hand fractures in Kuwait

ABSTRACT

To analyze hand fractures in Kuwait and to detect any findings that characterize our population A retrospective study Al-Razi Hospital, Kuwait All patients with hand fractures seen in the hand unit in 2005 were included in this study. Incidence of hand fractures, site and location of fracture The annual incidence of hand fractures was 93.5 per 100,000 individuals. The age group 25-34 years had 35.6% of fractures and represented the biggest group in carpal, metacarpal and phalangeal fractures. The male to female ratio was 51 and the right to left hand ratio was 1.2 1. Non-Kuwaiti nationals had 61% of fractures and 66.7% out of them sustained their fractures at work. The little finger is the most frequently injured finger and the terminal phalanx is the most frequently injured bone. In children the majority of fractures occur at home and crush injury was the mechanism in 79.9% of children four years old and younger. Our results show that a high percentage of fractures occur in non-Kuwaiti nationals at work and there is a high male to female ratio. This is partly explained by the composition of the population in Kuwait