The 2018 AO/OTA Fracture and Dislocation Classification Compendium is the third edition of the field's universal fracture coding system. It was revised by a joint AO Foundation/OTA committee to correct terminology, streamline codes, and incorporate five newly validated external classifications. This is the reference standard for fracture description, data storage, and multicenter research communication.
Every fracture you code, every chart note you write, and every multicenter study you read uses this system. Knowing the definitions cold is not academic — it is how you communicate precisely with consultants, document legally, and interpret the trauma literature.
When coding a diaphyseal fracture, ask one question first: after reduction, do the main fragments touch? Yes = Type B (Wedge). No = Type C (Multifragmentary). That single threshold separates the two most commonly confused types.
For complex elbow injuries (terrible triad, transolecranon fracture-dislocation), code the radius and ulna separately. The old single-code approach obscured the injury pattern; the 2018 system fixes this.
The Pauwels classification is now a qualification for femoral neck fractures, and the Young-Burgess system is integrated into pelvic ring coding. Meaning subspecialty-specific language now maps directly onto AO/OTA codes. One system, no translation required.
The 2018 AO/OTA Fracture and Dislocation Classification Compendium is the third edition of the field's universal fracture coding system. It was revised by a joint AO Foundation/OTA committee to correct terminology, streamline codes, and incorporate five newly validated external classifications. This is the reference standard for fracture description, data storage, and multicenter research communication.
Every fracture you code, every chart note you write, and every multicenter study you read uses this system. Knowing the definitions cold is not academic — it is how you communicate precisely with consultants, document legally, and interpret the trauma literature.
When coding a diaphyseal fracture, ask one question first: after reduction, do the main fragments touch? Yes = Type B (Wedge). No = Type C (Multifragmentary). That single threshold separates the two most commonly confused types.
For complex elbow injuries (terrible triad, transolecranon fracture-dislocation), code the radius and ulna separately. The old single-code approach obscured the injury pattern; the 2018 system fixes this.
The Pauwels classification is now a qualification for femoral neck fractures, and the Young-Burgess system is integrated into pelvic ring coding. Meaning subspecialty-specific language now maps directly onto AO/OTA codes. One system, no translation required.