Following trauma, should adult wrist radiographic examinations be two or three projections?

Literature review and anecdotal evidence appears to suggest a variation in the number of imaging projections used to demonstrate recent injury to the wrist, dependent on which Accident and Emergency (A&E) radiology department a patient attends. Some departments routinely undertake two projections (dorsi-palmar and lateral) whilst others include a dorsi-palmar oblique projection. The aim of this research was to assess if the inclusion of the additional projection altered the sensitivity of bony injury detection.