The prevalence of established scaphoid fracture non-union found on incidental radiography.

A hospital radiology reports database was used to determine the prevalence of non-union of scaphoid fractures. Radiographs taken for any indication were used. By using a large number of radiographs, variations attributable to bias were minimised. There was a 0.14% prevalence of established scaphoid fracture non-union in the general population, indicating that unrecognised scaphoid non-union is rare.