Correlates of radial nerve injury in fracture shaft humerus in a rural tertiary care center of Central India

A bstract Introduction: Fractures of the shaft of the humerus account for 1%–3% of all fractures. Radial nerve palsy associated with fractures of the shaft of the humerus is the most common nerve lesion. Objective: We aimed to find out the incidence of radial nerve injury and its correlates. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data from January 2008 to December 2018 were analyzed. Patients were classified under humeral diaphyseal fracture (S42.3) according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Data were entered and analyzed with Epi Info software. To find out the correlates, we applied a chi-square test with a level of significance of P < 0.05. Results: Out of 189 fractured humerus shafts, radial nerve injury was noted in 15 (7.94%) cases. The major contributing factor was road traffic accident, followed by a fall. The most common fracture was type A, with transverse fracture as the most common fracture pattern. Conclusion: We observed a rise in radial nerve injury with a rise in high-energy trauma in the rural part of Central India, which is largely preventable.