R. Nakamura et al., DISTAL RADIOULNAR JOINT SUBLUXATION AND DISLOCATION DIAGNOSED BY STANDARD ROENTGENOGRAPHY, Skeletal radiology, 24(2), 1995, pp. 91-94
The use of standard lateral roentgenography for diagnosing distal radi
oulnar joint (DRUJ) subluxation and dislocation was investigated. Usin
g a wrist support, bilateral standard lateral roentgenograms of the wr
ist were obtained in 42 patients with normal wrists and in 56 patients
with a unilateral wrist injury. In normal wrists the difference betwe
en the radioulnar distance in the right and the left wrist did not exc
eed 4 mm when the difference in the pisoscaphoid distance was less tha
n 3 mm. Of the 36 patients with wrist injury whose difference in pisos
caphoid distance was less than 3 mm, 15 had a radioulnar distance of 5
mm or more, and computed tomography (CT) confirmed DRUJ dislocation i
n 14. Concordance between lateral roentgenograms and CT was present in
33 of 36 patients (92%). These results demonstrate the value of a sta
ndardized technique for bilateral lateral roentgenography in diagnosin
g DRUJ subluxation and dislocation.