Thomas J Ryan, Natalie Enninghorst, Jessica Partridge, Ahmed Sulemain, Jacqueline Du Plessis, Chris Henry, Natasha Weaver, Seth M Tarrant, Zsolt J Balogh
{"title":"Contemporary Long-Term Patient Reported Outcomes of Pilon Fractures.","authors":"Thomas J Ryan, Natalie Enninghorst, Jessica Partridge, Ahmed Sulemain, Jacqueline Du Plessis, Chris Henry, Natasha Weaver, Seth M Tarrant, Zsolt J Balogh","doi":"10.1111/ans.70164","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pilon fractures are historically associated with suboptimal outcomes. No long-term Australian data is available on patient-reported outcomes. We hypothesised that pilon fracture long-term outcomes are inferior to Australian population norms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A 14-year retrospective study was conducted in a Level-1 trauma centre on AO/OTA type-B/C fractures. Type-A fractures, skeletally immature, interpreter requirement and primary amputation were excluded. Demographics, injury characteristics, management and complications were collected. The primary outcome was SF-36 with adjusted Australian norms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From 127 eligible patients, 73 were included in the study (age: 46 ± 17 years; 50 [69%] males) with 8.7 ± 3.9 years follow-up. Management included ORIF 46 (61%), external fixation (EF) with staged ORIF 17 (23%), definitive EF 4 (5%) and 8 (11%) non-operative. Further surgical intervention was required in 25 (34%) patients, with the majority for hardware removal (14 [19%]). Compared with Australian SF-36 norms, the mean Physical Component Score was lower (44.7 ± 8.9 vs. 50.3, p ≤ 0.001) whereas the Mental Component Score (51.2 ± 12.5 vs. 51.2, p = 0.24) was not. Median return to work was 4.5 months (IQR 5), with 47 (87%) of the 54 employed pre-injury working at 12 months. Two (3.7%) patients did not return to work and 24 (44%) returned at a reduced capacity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study provides a contemporary reference for pilon fractures managed in Australia. Outcomes were favourable when compared internationally. These patients are likely to resume employment, often at reduced capacity, while experiencing moderate long-term impacts to their physical well-being due to persistent pain.</p>","PeriodicalId":8158,"journal":{"name":"ANZ Journal of Surgery","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ANZ Journal of Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.70164","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Pilon fractures are historically associated with suboptimal outcomes. No long-term Australian data is available on patient-reported outcomes. We hypothesised that pilon fracture long-term outcomes are inferior to Australian population norms.
Methods: A 14-year retrospective study was conducted in a Level-1 trauma centre on AO/OTA type-B/C fractures. Type-A fractures, skeletally immature, interpreter requirement and primary amputation were excluded. Demographics, injury characteristics, management and complications were collected. The primary outcome was SF-36 with adjusted Australian norms.
Results: From 127 eligible patients, 73 were included in the study (age: 46 ± 17 years; 50 [69%] males) with 8.7 ± 3.9 years follow-up. Management included ORIF 46 (61%), external fixation (EF) with staged ORIF 17 (23%), definitive EF 4 (5%) and 8 (11%) non-operative. Further surgical intervention was required in 25 (34%) patients, with the majority for hardware removal (14 [19%]). Compared with Australian SF-36 norms, the mean Physical Component Score was lower (44.7 ± 8.9 vs. 50.3, p ≤ 0.001) whereas the Mental Component Score (51.2 ± 12.5 vs. 51.2, p = 0.24) was not. Median return to work was 4.5 months (IQR 5), with 47 (87%) of the 54 employed pre-injury working at 12 months. Two (3.7%) patients did not return to work and 24 (44%) returned at a reduced capacity.
Conclusion: This study provides a contemporary reference for pilon fractures managed in Australia. Outcomes were favourable when compared internationally. These patients are likely to resume employment, often at reduced capacity, while experiencing moderate long-term impacts to their physical well-being due to persistent pain.
期刊介绍:
ANZ Journal of Surgery is published by Wiley on behalf of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to provide a medium for the publication of peer-reviewed original contributions related to clinical practice and/or research in all fields of surgery and related disciplines. It also provides a programme of continuing education for surgeons. All articles are peer-reviewed by at least two researchers expert in the field of the submitted paper.