The frequency and epidemiology of hand and forearm fractures in the United States

The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency and describe the epidemiology of hand and forearm fractures in the United States. We extracted cases with ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes of 813.0 to 817.1 from the 1998 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. In 1998 there were 1,465,874 estimated cases of hand/forearm fractures, accounting for 1.5% of all emergency department cases. Radius and/or ulna fractures comprised the largest proportion of fractures (44%). The most affected age group was 5 to 14 years of age (26%). Private insurance paid for 49% of the cases. Most of the fractures occurred at home (30%); the street/highway was the second most likely fracture location (14%). Accidental falls caused the majority (47%) of fractures. Large database analysis provides important information that can be used to target interventions toward vulnerable populations and to allocate adequate resources for treating upper extremity fractures.