The management of segmental tibial shaft fractures: a systematic review

McMahon, Samuel, Little, Zoe, Smith, Toby ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1673-2954, Trompeter, Alex and Hing, Caroline (2016) The management of segmental tibial shaft fractures: a systematic review. Injury, 47 (3). pp. 568-573. ISSN 1879-0267

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Abstract

Introduction: Segmental tibial fractures are complex injuries associated with significant soft tissue damage that are difficult to treat. This study aimed to identify the most effective method of treating segmental tibial fractures. Method: A PRISMA compliant systematic review was conducted. Studies investigating the management of segmental tibial fractures with intramedullary nail fixation (IMN), open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) or circular external fixation (CEF) were included for review. The primary outcome measure was time to fracture union. Secondary outcomes were complications and functional outcome. A narrative analysis was undertaken as meta-analysis was inappropriate due to heterogeneity of the data. Results: Thirteen studies were eligible and included. No randomized controlled trials were identified. Fixation with an intramedullary nail provided the fastest time to union, followed by open reduction and internal fixation and then CEF. The rate of deep infection was highest after IMN (5/162 [3%]), followed by open reduction and internal fixation (2/78 [2.5%]) and CEF (1/54 [2%]). However, some studies reported particularly high rates of infection following IMN for open segmental tibial fractures. There was limited reporting of postoperative deformities. From the studies that did include such data, there was a higher rate of deformity following ORIF (8/53 [15%]), compared to IMN (13/138 [9%]), and CEF (4/44 [9%]). Three studies, not including IMN, described patient reported outcome measures with results ranging from ‘excellent’ to ‘fair'. Discussion: The available evidence was of poor quality, dominated by retrospective case series. This prevented statistical analysis, and precludes firm conclusions being drawn from the results available. Conclusion: IMN has the fastest time to fracture union, however there are concerns regarding an increased deep infection rate in open segmental tibial fractures. In this subgroup, the data suggests CEF provides the most satisfactory results. However, the available literature does not provide sufficient detail to make this statement with certainty. We recommend a randomized controlled study to further investigate this challenging problem.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	tibial fracture,fixation,management,comminuted,segmental
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Rehabilitation Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	17 Mar 2016 12:00
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 01:32
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/57527
DOI:	10.1016/j.injury.2015.11.022

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