Lafontaine criteria

Factors read from the first radiograph of a distal radius fracture to predict secondary displacement after closed reduction, described by Lafontaine in 1989: dorsal tilt over 20°, dorsal comminution, intra-articular radiocarpal involvement, an associated ulnar fracture and comminution, with age over 60 as an additional factor. Later studies found their discrimination modest.

Related terms

• Investigation

  Ulnar variance

  The difference in length between the articular surfaces of the distal ulna and the distal radius on a neutral-rotation posteroanterior radiograph, recorded as positive when the ulna is longer and negative when it is shorter. After a distal radius fracture, an increase reflects shortening of the radius.

Articles mentioning this term

1. FESSH preparation · 2 October 2026

   Distal radius fractures

   Distal radius fractures for FESSH candidates: instability, alignment and age, DRAFFT, DRAFFT2 and CROSSFIRE, volar plate complications, the DRUJ and CRPS.

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