Conservative treatment has comparable outcome with bouquet pinning of little finger metacarpal neck fractures: a multicentre randomized controlled study of 85 patients

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

85 patients with fifth metacarpal neck fractures and palmar angulation >30 deg were randomized to receive either conservative treatment (plaster-of-Paris cast and buddy strapping) or operative treatment through closed reduction and internal fixation by antegrade intramedullary bouquet pinning. This study aimed to determine if conservative treatment was non-inferior to operative treatment with respect to function, pain, satisfaction, and quality of life over 1 year following treatment. The results of this trial indicated that both treatment arms were equally effective. There were some significant differences noted between groups: the conservative group were more often discontent with the appearance of the injured hand; the operative group had a greater incidence of complications and longer period of disability.