The risk of non-union per fracture: current myths and revised figures from a population of over 4 million adults

Figures & data

Figure 1. Total number of non-unions treated over a 5-year period in Scotland.

Table 1. Total numbers of non-union patients in Scotland over 5 years between 2005 and 2010 according to age and ISD-10 anatomical non-union site

Age (years)	15–24	25–34	35–44	45–54	55–64	65–74	75–84	≥ 85	Total
Pelvis and femur	18	31	65	64	98	121	112	63	572
Tibia and fibula	70	119	137	105	101	56	32	17	637
Ankle and foot	53	85	70	101	78	43	34	7	471
Clavicle and scapula	59	92	118	132	79	69	38	7	594
Humerus	21	44	69	121	137	154	147	31	724
Radius and ulna	264	287	243	127	95	73	49	9	1,147
Hand	90	51	44	29	16	5	3	0	238
Axial skeleton	12	3	13	10	12	21	11	6	88
Site unspecified	1	1	1	2	3	0	2	0	10
Multiple sites	3	1	2	3	1	1	1	0	12
No additional details	27	42	39	26	35	27	21	5	222
Total	618	756	801	720	655	570	450	145	4,715

Figure 2. Incidence of fractures per 100,000 population, according to sex.

Figure 3. Incidence of fractures per 100, 000 population, according to ISD-10 anatomical distribution.

Figure 4. Incidence of non-union per 1,000 fractures per annum, according to sex.

Figure 5. Incidence of non-union per 1,000 fractures, according to ISD-10 anatomical distribution.

Table 2. Frequency of non-union per 1,000 fractures, according to distribution of age and sex

Age (years)	15–24	25–34	35–44	45–54	55–64	65–74	75–84	≥ 85	All ages
Male	14.4	32.1	33.2	28.9	30.2	22.7	13.4	4.3	22.6
Female	12.4	21.5	24.0	21.4	16.1	15.5	11.9	5.9	15.4
Male and female	14.3	29.1	29.7	25.0	20.6	17.2	12.2	5.6	18.8

Figure 6. Upper and lower estimates of clavicle non-union per fracture.

Figure 7. Incidence of non-union per 1,000 fractures, by age distribution, showing 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 8. Incidence of non-union per 1,000 fractures, according to anatomical distribution, showing 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 9. Comparison of the patterns of incidence of fractures, non-union, and non-union per fracture, according to age and sex.