Kienböck’s Disease – Incidence and operations in Finland: a nationwide register study

Abstract

This study assessed the nationwide incidence of Kienböck’s Disease, and operations performed for Kienböck’s Disease from the Care Register for Health Care in Finland 1996–2022. The mean annual total standardized incidence rate per million person-years was 9.60 (95% CI: 9.10–10.11) and for men and women, 10.38 (95% CI: 9.63–11.13) and 8.78 (95% CI: 8.10–9.45), respectively. The incidence rate was highest for 50–59-year-olds, at 15.49. Compared with women, the incidence rate for men was higher across all age groups up to 60–69 years. Altogether, 44% of the patients were operated on, and 19% of them had multiple operations. Partial arthrodesis was the most performed procedure and salvage procedures covered 62% of all operations. Our findings provide comprehensive new evidence about Kienböck’s Disease distribution across Finland’s population and offer insights into the burden caused by operations.