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

Table 5 Evaluation of periodic grip strength measurements and differences according to the splint method

Grip strength measurements (lbs)		UGS (n = 18)	FMS (n = 22)	^a P
Fractured side
2nd month	Min-Max (Median)	49–107 (80)	40–106 (73)	^a0.608
2nd month	Mean ± SD	77.06 ± 16.16	74.32 ± 17.03	^a0.608
6th month	Min-Max (Median)	53–120 (92,5)	55–112 (82,5)	^a0.498
6th month	Mean ± SD	89.67 ± 18.97	85.95 ± 15.36	^a0.498
	^c p	0.001**	0,001**
2nd - 6th month increase	Mean ± SD (Median)	17.08 ± 15.47 (16.2)	17.57 ± 13.37 (15.1)	^a0.892
Loss of grip strength (lbs)
2nd month	Mean ± SD (Median)	14.12 ± 20.89 (10.6)	6.46 ± 16.28 (1.3)	^a0.226
2nd month	^c p	0.008**	0.097	^a0.226
6th month	Mean ± SD (Median)	0.84 ± 13.49 (− 4.1)	−2.24 ± 16.58 (−4.4)	^a0.673
6th month	^c p	0.982	0.383	^a0.673

UGS Ulnar gutter splint, (FMS) Functional metacarpal splint, Min Minimum, Max Maximum, SD Standard deviation
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01
^aMann Whitney U Test
^cWilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

ISSN: 1471-2474