Journal article
Fractures of the tibial plateau involve similar energies as the tibial pilon but greater articular surface involvement
Journal of orthopaedic research, Vol.35(3), pp.618-624
03/2017
DOI: 10.1002/jor.23359
PMCID: PMC5218984
PMID: 27381653
Abstract
Patients with tibial pilon fractures have a higher incidence of post-traumatic osteoarthritis than those with fractures of the tibial plateau. This may indicate that pilon fractures present a greater mechanical insult to the joint than do plateau fractures. We tested the hypothesis that fracture energy and articular fracture edge length, two independent indicators of severity, are higher in pilon than plateau fractures. We also evaluated whether clinical fracture classification systems accurately reflect severity. Seventy-five tibial plateau fractures and 52 tibial pilon fractures from a multi-institutional study were selected to span the spectrum of severity. Fracture severity measures were calculated using objective CT-based image analysis methods. The ranges of fracture energies measured for tibial plateau and pilon fractures were 3.2-33.2 Joules (J) and 3.6-32.2 J, respectively, and articular fracture edge lengths were 68.0-493.0 mm and 56.1-288.6 mm, respectively. There were no differences in the fracture energies between the two fracture types, but plateau fractures had greater articular fracture edge lengths (p < 0.001). The clinical fracture classifications generally reflected severity, but there was substantial overlap of fracture severity measures between different classes. Similar fracture energies with different degrees of articular surface involvement suggest a possible explanation for dissimilar rates of post-traumatic osteoarthritis for fractures of the tibial plateau compared to the tibial pilon. The substantial overlap of severity measures between different fracture classes may well have confounded prior clinical studies relying on fracture classification as a surrogate for severity. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:618-624, 2017.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Fractures of the tibial plateau involve similar energies as the tibial pilon but greater articular surface involvement
- Creators
- Kevin Dibbern - Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaLaurence B Kempton - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IndianaThomas F Higgins - Department of Orthopaedics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UtahSaam Morshed - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CaliforniaTodd O McKinley - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IndianaJ Lawrence Marsh - Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaDonald D Anderson - Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of orthopaedic research, Vol.35(3), pp.618-624
- Publisher
- United States
- DOI
- 10.1002/jor.23359
- PMID
- 27381653
- PMCID
- PMC5218984
- ISSN
- 0736-0266
- eISSN
- 1554-527X
- Grant note
- R21 AR061808 / NIAMS NIH HHS P50 AR055533 / NIAMS NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/2017
- Academic Unit
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Orthopedics and Rehabilitation; Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984040377202771
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