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Table 3 Evaluation of periodic metacarpal shortness measurements and differences according to the splint method

From: Comparison of functional metacarpal splint and ulnar gutter splint in the treatment of fifth metacarpal neck fractures: a prospective comparative study

  UGS (n = 18) FMS (n = 22) d P
Metacarpal shortening measurements (mm)
 Fracture Min-Max (Median) 2–7 (5) 2–9 (4) 0.303
Mean ± SD 4.67 ± 1.46 4.32 ± 1.46
 Initial reduction Min-Max (Median) 1–6 (2) 1–4 (2) 0.209
Mean ± SD 2.83 ± 1.58 2.14 ± 0.94
 1st month Min-Max (Median) 1–7 (3.5) 2–5 (3) 0.522
Mean ± SD 3.61 ± 1.69 3.27 ± 1.08
 6th month Min-Max (Median) 1–6 (4) 2–5 (3) 0.359
Mean ± SD 3.67 ± 1.71 3.32 ± 1.04
  e p 0.001** 0.001**  
Differences
 Fracture – Initial reduction Mean ± SD (Median) −1.83 ± 1.34 (− 1) −2.18 ± 1.47 (− 2) 0.292
f p 0.001** 0.001**
 Fracture – 1st month Mean ± SD (Median) −1.06 ± 1.11 (− 1) −1.05 ± 1.17 (− 1) 0.910
f p 0.002** 0.001**
 Fracture – 6th month Mean ± SD (Median) −1.00 ± 1.08 (− 1) −1.00 ± 1.15 (− 1) 0.909
f p 0.002** 0.001**
 Initial reduction – 1st month Mean ± SD (Median) 0.78 ± 1.26 (0,5) 1.14 ± 1.08 (1) 0.271
f p 0.018* 0.001**
 Initial reduction – 6th month Mean ± SD (Median) 0.83 ± 1.34 (0,5) 1.18 ± 1.05 (1) 0.269
f p 0,018* 0,001**
 1st month – 6th month Mean ± SD (Median) 0.06 ± 0.54 (0) 0.05 ± 0.21 (0) 0.895
f p 0.655 0.317
  1. UGS Ulnar gutter splint, (FMS) Functional metacarpal splint, Min Minimum, Max Maximum, SD Standard deviation
  2. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01
  3. dMann Whitney U Test
  4. eFriedman Test
  5. fWilcoxon Signed Ranks Test
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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