Plaster casts as effective as surgery for wrist fractures in young people
Plaster casts are as effective as surgery for healing a common wrist fracture in young people, NIHR-funded research found.
The SWIFFT trial compared plaster casts and surgery to treat fractures of the scaphoid bone, one of eight small bones in the wrist.
Scaphoid bone fractures are caused by falling on the hand or the hand being suddenly forced backward.
The study involved 439 participants from 31 NHS hospitals, including 36 at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital and nine at Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital. It was led by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
