Wrist Arthrodesis: Clinical and Ultrasonographic Trial

INTRODUCTION: The wrist arthrodesis has become a well-established procedure on the treatment of various diseases that affect the radiocarpal joint with the objective of pain relief and restoration of joint stability, allowing a recovery of gripping function and lifestyle. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the functional outcomes of wrist arthrodesis in patients with advanced symptomatic inflammatory or degenerative arthritis and evaluate the residual synovitis by ultrasonography. METHODS: Review the patients who underwent a total wrist arthrodesis in our Hospital between 1999 and 2009, by a comparative and functional study. The study population was divided into two groups: Inflammatory Rheumatic Disease (IRD group) and another that included the remaining cases (RC group). For functional evaluation we used the Buck-Gramcko&Lohman (BGL) Evaluation for Total Wrist Function and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Score. Pain levels were measured pre- and postoperatively according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A General Electric P5 Power Doppler Ultrasound with a high-resolution linear 7-12 MHz array was used to identify local synovitis. Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon and Chi-Square tests were applied for statistical evaluation. p