Scenario
A 27 year old motorcyclist sustains an isolated injury to his left wrist in a motor vehicle accident.
Question
a. Describe and interpret his X-ray (50%) b. List the acute complications of this injury (50%)
Answer
FACEM VAQ Exam 2008.1 – Question 7
- X-ray showing a dislocated lunate and a fractured radial styloid process.
- The overall pass rate for this question was 49/62 (75.8%).
- This was a basic question done very poorly by a number of candidates.
- Satisfactory answers required the diagnosis of the dislocation and fracture plus identification in Part b) of the common complications of this injury.
- Poor answers missed the radial fracture, misdiagnosed perilunate dislocation and/or did not mention median nerve injury as a potential complication.















