Editing Colles' fracture (section)

{{Short description|Type of distal radius fracture}}

{{Infobox medical condition (new)
| name            = Colles' fracture
| synonyms        = Colles fracture, Pouteau fracture<ref name=AOF2017/>
| image           = Collesfracture.jpg
| width           =
| alt             =
| caption         = An X-ray showing a Colles' fracture
| pronounce       =
| field           = [[Emergency medicine]], [[orthopedics]]
| symptoms        = Pain, swelling, deformity, [[bruising]]<ref name=AO2013/>
| complications   =
| onset           = Sudden<ref name=AO2013/>
| duration        =
| types           =
| causes          = Fall on an outstretched hand<ref name=AO2013/>
| risks           = [[Osteoporosis]]<ref name=AO2013/>
| diagnosis       = [[X-ray#Projectional_radiographs|X-rays]]<ref name=AO2013/>
| differential    =
| prevention      =
| treatment       = [[orthopedic cast|Cast]], surgery<ref name=Bla2010/>
| medication      =
| prognosis       = Recovery over 1 to 2 years<ref name=AO2013/>
| frequency       = ~15% lifetime risk<ref name=Bla2010/>
| deaths          =
}}

A '''Colles' fracture''' is a type of [[distal radius fracture|fracture of the distal forearm]] in which the broken end of the [[Radius (bone)|radius]] is bent [[dorsal (anatomy)|backwards]].<ref name=AO2013>{{cite web|title=Distal Radius Fractures (Broken Wrist)|url=http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00412|website=orthoinfo.aaos.org|access-date=12 October 2017|date=March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702084652/http://www.orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00412|archive-date=2 July 2017}}</ref> Symptoms may include pain, [[Edema|swelling]], deformity, and [[bruising]].<ref name=AO2013/> Complications may include damage to the [[median nerve]].<ref name=AOF2017>{{cite web|title=Distal forearm 23-A2.2 CRIF|url=https://www2.aofoundation.org/wps/portal/surgery?showPage=redfix&bone=Radius&segment=Distal&classification=23-A2.2&treatment=&method=CRIF%20-%20Closed%20reduction%20internal%20fixation&implantstype=K-wires%20and%20cast&approach=&redfix_url=1428651445110&Language=en|website=www2.aofoundation.org|access-date=13 October 2017|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013172626/https://www2.aofoundation.org/wps/portal/surgery?showPage=redfix&bone=Radius&segment=Distal&classification=23-A2.2&treatment=&method=CRIF%20-%20Closed%20reduction%20internal%20fixation&implantstype=K-wires%20and%20cast&approach=&redfix_url=1428651445110&Language=en|archive-date=13 October 2017}}</ref>

It typically occurs as a result of a fall on an outstretched hand.<ref name=AO2013/> Risk factors include [[osteoporosis]].<ref name=AO2013/> The diagnosis may be confirmed via [[radiography|X-rays]].<ref name=AO2013/> The tip of the [[ulna]] may also be broken.<ref name=Pf2010>{{cite book|last1=Pfenninger|first1=John L.|last2=Fowler|first2=Grant C.|title=Pfenninger and Fowler's Procedures for Primary Care E-Book: Expert Consult|date=2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1455700929|page=1292|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loI3ZhC4UN4C&pg=PA1293|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013224533/https://books.google.ca/books?id=loI3ZhC4UN4C&pg=PA1293|archive-date=2017-10-13}}</ref>

Treatment may include [[orthopedic cast|casting]] or surgery.<ref name=Bla2010/> [[Reduction (orthopedic surgery)|Surgical reduction]] and casting is possible in the majority of cases in people over the age of 50.<ref name=Ou2005>{{cite journal|last1=Oussedik|first1=S|last2=Haddad|first2=F|title=Manipulation and immobilization of Colles' fractures.|journal=British Journal of Hospital Medicine|date=September 2005|volume=66|issue=9|pages=M34-5|doi=10.12968/hmed.2005.66.Sup2.19718|pmid=16200794}}</ref> Pain management can be achieved during the reduction with [[procedural sedation and analgesia]] or a [[hematoma block]].<ref name=Ou2005/> A year or two may be required for healing to occur.<ref name=AO2013/>

About 15% of people have a Colles' fracture at some point in their life.<ref name=Bla2010/> They occur more commonly in young adults and older people than in children and middle-aged adults.<ref name=Bla2010>{{cite journal|last1=Blakeney|first1=WG|title=Stabilization and treatment of Colles' fractures in elderly patients.|journal=Clinical Interventions in Aging|date=18 November 2010|volume=5|pages=337–44|doi=10.2147/CIA.S10042|pmid=21228899|pmc=3010169 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Women are more frequently affected than men.<ref name=Bla2010/> The fracture is named after [[Abraham Colles]] who described it in 1814.<ref name=Bla2010/>