Fractures of the fifth metacarpal

Background: The literature is limited concerning the epidemiological issues of fracture in the fifth metacarpal bone.Purpose: To explore the incidence and types of this fracture, and how the fracture is related to age, gender, trauma mechanism, and at what day of the week the causing trauma occurred.Material and Methods: All hand fractures registered at the Department of Radiology, Buskerud Hospital, Norway, in the period between 2004 and 2006 were reviewed.Results: Of 1475 hand fractures, 271 (18.4%) were located in the fifth metacarpal bone. In 130 of these cases (121 male, nine female), the trauma had occurred through aggression, such as a fistfight or from punching a hard object. The majority of fractures were located in the neck of the metacarpal bone (boxer's fracture). The median age of this group was 22 (7–51) years. Concerning the time of trauma, there was a significant peak during weekends (95 patients). One hundred forty-one of the fifth metacarpal fractures were caused by accidental trauma (99...