Diagnostic tools to evaluate ankle instability caused by a deltoid ligament rupture in patients with supination-external rotation ankle fractures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: Supination-external rotation (SER) ankle fractures account for the majority of ankle fractures and can be divided into stable or unstable fractures, based on the state of the deltoid ligament. The objective of this review was to appraise the available literature concerning diagnostic tools to evaluate deltoid ligament integrity in patients with SER-type ankle fractures. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search of Pubmed and Embase was performed up to December 2020. The outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive value of the diagnostic tools. A meta-analysis was performed to obtain an overview of sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC). The methodological quality of the articles was evaluated using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies investigating tools for deltoid ligament rupture in patients with SER-type ankle fractures were included. The present study found sensitivity (and specificity) ranges of 0.20-0.90 (and 0.38-0.97) for clinical features, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) 0.57-0.85 (and 0.81-1.00), ultrasonography 1.00 (and 0.89-1.00), Malleolar Medial Fleck Sign (MMFS) 0.25 (and 0.99), conventional ankle mortise radiography 0.33-0.57 (and 0.60-0.94), gravity stress radiography 0.71-1.00 (and 0.72-0.88) and manual stress ankle radiography 0.65-1.00 (and 0.00-0.77). The largest AUC was found for ultrasonography, followed by MMFS, gravity stress radiography and MRI. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography and gravity stress radiography seem the most accurate diagnostic tools to evaluate deltoid ligament integrity. To strengthen this conclusion, future research should use an identical reference test to ensure comparability of results. Nevertheless, present study is of high value to close the knowledge gap about which presently available diagnostic tool is to be preferred to evaluate deltoid ligament integrity in patients with SER-type ankle fractures.

Effectiveness of surgical treatments on healing of cartilage and function level in patients with osteochondral lesions of the tibial plafond: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Osteochondral lesions of the tibial plafond (OLTPs) occur less frequently than those of the talus, and treatment guidelines have not been determined. The aim of the current review was to evaluate the effectiveness of surgical treatments on the healing of cartilage and on function level, i.e. pain reduction, reduced swelling and improved joint range of motion, in patients with OLTPs. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search in PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar was performed up to December 2020. The outcome measures were healing of cartilage and function level. RESULTS: Four studies investigating treatment of OLTPs were included. Three studies investigated treatment by means of microfracture. One of these studies showed an osteochondral defect filling in 52.0% of patients. All three studies showed an improvement in function level. Antegrade drilling was evaluated in one study, showing contrasting results in two patients. One-step bone marrow-derived cell transplantation was evaluated in one study, showing an osteochondral defect filling in 68.0% of patients and improvements in patients' function level. CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic treatment of OLTPs by means of microfracture and bone marrow-derived cell transplantation (BMDCT) seem effective for the outcome at the patient's function level, while BMDCT showed more promising results regarding defect filling. However, this is based on the current available evidence with poor quality of methodology. Further research is of paramount importance to understand this injury and to evaluate the best treatments.

Medium-Term Patient-Reported Quality of Life and Activities of Daily Living in Surgically Treated Trauma Patients With Pelvic, Acetabular or Combined Pelvic and Acetabular Fractures in a Retrospective Single-Center Study.

OBJECTIVE: To gain more insights in the medium-term patient-reported quality of life (QoL), activities of daily living (ADL), and number of complications in trauma patients with an acetabular fracture (AF), a pelvic fracture (PF), and those with a surgically combined pelvic and AF (PAF). DESIGN: Retrospective single-center study. SETTING: Level I academic trauma center. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: 51 trauma patients with PF, AF, or PAF who were surgically treated between 2014 and 2017. INTERVENTION: Open reduction and internal fixation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome measures are patient-reported outcome questionnaire, which includes 2 items, the QoL, as measured with the Short Form-12, and the ADL, as measured with the Lower Extremity Functional Scale. The secondary outcome parameter was the occurrence of complications during a follow-up of at least 2 years. RESULTS: The mean physical component score (PCS) of the QoL (P = 0.03) and the ADL (P = 0.03) were significantly higher in patients with AF compared with patients with PF. The incidence of the overall postoperative complications did not significantly differ between the PF, AF, and PAF groups (P = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the PCS of the QoL and the ADL in surgically treated trauma patients with PF were significantly lower compared with patients with AF. No significant differences were found in overall complication rate between the PF, AF, and PAF groups. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Feasibility and validity of ambulant biofeedback devices to improve weight-bearing compliance in trauma patients with lower extremity fractures: A narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Ambulant biofeedback devices can be used to provide real-time feedback for trauma patients on weight-bearing regimes. The devices also enable prescribing clinicians to monitor and train patients' level of weight-bearing. However, there is limited evidence regarding the feasibility of use of such devices in controlling weight-bearing, and their full potential remains to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of using ambulant biofeedback training devices to improve compliance with weight-bearing regimes in trauma patients with lower extremity fractures. METHODS: A literature review of the feasibility and clinical validity of ambulant biofeedback devices. RESULTS: Three clinically validated biofeedback devices were found feasible for use in monitoring the compliance of patients who have lower extremity fractures with different weight-bearing regimes. CONCLUSION: Further information about the feasibility and clinical validity of biofeedback training devices is nee-ded in order to optimize weight-bearing instructions for patients.