Traumatic Orthopaedic Injuries in the Prison Population

Introduction: The United States has the highest population of inmates in the world (per capita and total). Musculoskeletal disorders are included within the 10 most frequent medical reports of prisoners; however, the literature about them is limited. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiology and complications of traumatic musculoskeletal injuries. To our knowledge, this is the first report of musculoskeletal trauma and complications in the prison population. Methods: A list of all traumatic orthopaedic injuries and complications, except for spine, was sent to the billing contractor of the Pennsylvania state prison system based on the Current Procedure Terminology, and it was queried over a 3-year period. Results: Five hundred seventy-six patients met the criteria. The hand and wrist was the most commonly injured region (65%), followed by foot and ankle (20%). Metacarpal fracture represented 22% of all injuries. A low complication rate was noted among all surgical procedures. Infection was seen in 1.15% of hand surgeries and in 2% of ankle surgeries. In addition, a low incidence of nonunion was recorded (1.5%). Nonsurgical management was the chosen method of treatment in 64% of all injuries. Conclusion: In this prison population with musculoskeletal injuries, upper extremity injuries and nonsurgical treatment are more prevalent and low energy injuries are more common. Contrary to popular belief, there is a trend toward low infection and complication rates after orthopaedic treatment. Further studies are necessary to best identify the patterns of injuries and the best way to treat inmates with orthopaedic injuries.