Forearm Fractures Could Signal Intimate Partner Violence

Nearly one-third of adult women who sustained a non-displaced fracture to the forearm's ulna bone could be victims of intimate partner violence, report a new study. The findings of the study are presented at the RSNA 2020. The findings //emphasize the need to screen for intimate partner violence in women with these types of injuries, researchers stated.

Fractures to the ulna, the bone on the forearm's pinkie side, often happen when people hold up their hands to defend their faces from being struck with an object. These breaks are known as "nightstick fractures" as they are commonly seen in people who try to block blows from nightsticks handled by police officers.

Bharti Khurana, M.D., a radiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and senior author of the study, had observed these wounds in her practice for years, mostly in men. But it was the occasional woman she noticed that raised questions.

For the study, Dr. Khurana and colleagues examined electronic medical records from six hospitals for isolated ulnar fractures in women ages 18 to 50. They identified 62 patients with an average age of 31. Of those, 12 were proved for intimate partner violence, and another eight were suspected of intimate partner violence.

Analysis of the radiographs demonstrated that intimate partner violence was strongly linked to minimally displaced fractures.

The study results suggest that intimate partner violence screening may be underutilized.

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Source-Medindia