Table 2.

GRADE summary of findings

Volar locking plate compared with percutaneous K- wires for displaced distal radius fracture Bibliography (systematic reviews)
Outcomes	Number of participants (studies) followup	Quality of the evidence (GRADE)	Anticipated absolute effects
			Risk with percutaneous K-wires	Risk difference with volar locking plate
Function at 3 months assessed with DASH followup: 3 months	414 (6 RCTs) 3 months	⊕⊕◯◯ Low1,2	The mean function at 3 months in the control group was 27.4	MD 7.5 lower (4.4 lower to 10.6 lower)
Function at 6–12 months (final function) assessed with DASH followup: range, 6–12 months	875 (7 RCTs) 6–12 months	⊕⊕⊕◯ Moderate1	The mean function at 6–12 months in the control group was 15.5	MD 3.8 lower (1.2 lower to 6.3 lower)

¹Lack of blinding of outcome assessors in most trials; ² high imprecision in pooled estimate; the risk in the intervention group (and its 95% CI) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI); RCTs = randomized controlled trials; MD = mean difference. GRADE Working Group grades of evidence: High quality = We are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect; Moderate quality = We are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different; Low quality = confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect; Very low quality = We have very little confidence in the effect estimate: The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.