Radial nerve injury associated with humeral shaft fracture: a retrospective study

Objective:

To determine the profile of patients with humeral diaphyseal fractures in a tertiary hospital.

Methods:

We conducted a survey from January 2010 to July 2012, including data from patients classified under humeral diaphyseal fracture (S42.3) according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). The variables analyzed were: age, gender, presence of radial nerve injury, causal agent and the type of treatment carried out.

Results:

The main causes of trauma were car accidents. The radial nerve lesion was present in some cases and was caused by the same trauma that caused the fracture or iatrogenic injury. Most of these fractures occurred in the middle third of humeral diaphysis and was treated conservatively.

Conclusion:

The profile of patients with fracture of humeral shaft, in this specific sample, was composed mainly of adult men involved in traffic accidents; the associated radial nerve lesion was present in most of these fractures and its cause was strongly related to the trauma mechanism. Level of Evidence II, Retrospective Study.

Humeral fractures; Radial nerve; Epidemiology, descriptive