Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33397351›Full record

ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2021

External fixator combined with three different fixation methods of fibula for treatment of extra-articular open fractures of distal tibia and fibula: a retrospective study.

Dong-Dong Sun, Dan Lv, Kun Zhou, Jian Chen, Li-Lan Gao, Ming-Lin Sun

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
8.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 94 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Utility of transcranial motor-evoked potential changes in predicting postoperative deficit in lumbar decompression and fusion surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Factors influencing cage subsidence in anterior cervical corpectomy and discectomy: a systematic review.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023
    Pooled it
  3. Direct vertebral rotation (DVR) spinal instrumentation for the correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis Lenke 5 C.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025
    Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Cervical vertebral Hounsfield units are a better predictor of Zero-P subsidence than the T-score of DXA in patients following single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with zero-profile anchored spacer.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Dong-Dong SunDepartment of Orthopedic, Characteristic Medical center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, No. 220 Cheng Lin Road, Tianjin, 300171, China.
Dan LvDepartment of Orthopedic, Characteristic Medical center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, No. 220 Cheng Lin Road, Tianjin, 300171, China.
Kun ZhouLogistics University of People's Armed Police, Tianjin, 300300, China.
Jian ChenLogistics University of People's Armed Police, Tianjin, 300300, China.
Li-Lan GaoSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, No. 391 Bin Shui West Road, Tianjin, 300384, China. gaolilan780921@163.com.
Ming-Lin SunDepartment of Orthopedic, Characteristic Medical center of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, No. 220 Cheng Lin Road, Tianjin, 300171, China. 165318413@qq.com.
Chinese People's Armed Police ForceLogistics University of People's Armed Police Force · CNTianjin University of Technology · CN

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 11572222
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo compare the efficacy of three different fixation methods of fibula combined with external fixation of tibia for the treatment of extra-articular open fractures of distal tibia and fibula.

methodsFrom January 2017 to July 2019, 91 cases of open fractures of distal tibia and fibula were treated with external fixator, and the fibula was fixed with non-fixation (group A, n = 35), plate-screw (group B, n = 30) and Kirschner wire (group C, n = 26). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, surgical and implants costs, fracture healing time, postoperative complications, and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle surgery (AOFAS) scores were compared among the groups.

resultsFour patients were lost to follow-up, and 87 patients were followed up for 5-35 months (average, 14.2 months). The operation time of group C (114.92 ± 36.09 min) was shorter than that of group A (142.27 ± 47.05 min) and group B (184.00 ± 48.56 min) (P < 0.05). There was no difference in intraoperative blood loss among the three groups (P > 0.05). The surgical and implants costs in group C (5.24 ± 1.21, thousand dollars) is lower than that in group A (6.48 ± 1.11, thousand dollars) and group B (9.37 ± 2.16, thousand dollars) (P < 0.05). The fracture healing time of group C (5.67 ± 1.42 months) was significantly less than that of group A (6.90 ± 1.33 months) and group B (6.70 ± 1.12 months) (P < 0.05). The postoperative complications such as fractures delayed union and nonunion in group C (2 cases, 8.00%) is less than that in group A (13 cases, 39.39%) and group B (11cases, 37.93%) (P < 0.05). The wound infection and needle-tract infection did not differ among the three groups (P > 0.05). The excellent or good rate of ankle function was 69.70% in group A, 72.41% in group B and 84.00% in group C, with no statistical difference among the three groups (P > 0.05).

conclusionCompared with simple external fixator fixation and external fixator combined with plate-screw osteosynthesis, external fixator combined with K-wire intramedullary fixation shortens the operative time and fracture healing time, reduced costs and complications of fracture healing, while the blood loss, infection complications and ankle function recovery showed no difference with the other two groups. External fixator combined with plate-screw osteosynthesis had no advantage in treating extra-articular open fractures of distal tibia and fibula when compared with simple external fixation.

Indexed as

Fractures, OpenTibial FracturesExternal FixatorsFibulaFracture Fixation, InternalFracture HealingHumansRetrospective StudiesTibiaTreatment OutcomeExternal fixatorFibulaFractures, openKirschner wireTibial fractures

Identifiers

PMID33397351
PMCPMC7780413
OpenAlexW3120320100

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.