Correlation Between Radiographic and Computed Tomography Measurements of Intramedullary Canal Width in Metacarpals
Abstract
Background: Intramedullary screw fixation is the standard surgical treatment. Therefore, it is essential to know the size of the intramedullary canal to select the appropriate screw size. Measuring the canal size using radiographic images significantly evaluates the size of devices, whether a plain film or a computed tomography imaging.
Objective: To study the correlation and compare the width of the narrowest part of the intramedullary canal of metacarpal in each finger from the measurement using plain film, compared to the use of computed tomography imaging.
Material and Methods: This study was a retrospective study, reviewing the radiographic image collection system and medical records from the computer database of Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat hospital from January 2022 to August 2025. It measured the width of the narrowest part of the intramedullary canal in the PA view and mediolateral view of each metacarpal bone from the thumb to the little finger from both plain radiographs and computed tomography images.
Results: In a radiographic examination of 32 patients, no statistically significant difference was found between plain radiographs in PA view and computed tomography measurements for all metacarpal bones. Furthermore, plain radiograph measurements correlated positively with computed tomography measurements for all fingers.
Conclusions: In patients with metacarpal fractures requiring surgical treatment with intramedullary screw fixation, the width of the intramedullary canal of the metacarpal could be measured based on plain film of the hand alone.
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เนื้อหาและข้อมูลในบทความที่ลงตีพิมพ์ในมหาราชนครศรีธรรมราชเวชสาร ถือเป็นข้อคิดเห็นและความรับผิดชอบของผู้เขียนบทความโดยตรงซึ่งกองบรรณาธิการวารสาร ไม่จำเป็นต้องเห็นด้วย หรือร่วมรับผิดชอบใด ๆ
บทความ ข้อมูล เนื้อหา รูปภาพ ฯลฯ ที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์ในมหาราชนครศรีธรรมราชเวชสาร ถือเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของมหาราชนครศรีธรรมราชเวชสาร หากบุคคลหรือหน่วยงานใดต้องการนำทั้งหมดหรือส่วนหนึ่งส่วนใดไปเผยแพร่ต่อหรือเพื่อกระทำการใด จะต้องได้รับอนุญาตเป็นลายลักษณ์อักษรจากวารสารมหาราชนครศรีธรรมราชเวชสาร ก่อนเท่านั้น
