A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included four studies with a total of 283 subjects. All trials were methodologically flawed. Three trials compared different types of finger splints versus a standard Stack splint. One trial found a lower incidence of treatment failure in participants treated with a perforated custom-made splint. One trial found there were fewer complications in participants treated with a padded aluminium-alloy malleable finger splint; however, the incidence of treatment failure was similar in the two treatment groups. One trial evaluating the Abouna splint found a similar incidence of treatment failure in the two groups. However, the Abouna splint often needed replacing due to material failure and was also less popular with participants. The fourth trial found no statistically significant differences between Kirschner wire fixation and a Pryor and Howard splint. Similar numbers had complications in the two groups.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by limitations in study quality, by imprecise results (limited study size for each comparison) and by inconsistency (heterogeneity in interventions and outcomes).
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