Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36242674›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie2023

Clinical outcomes of ankle fractures in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Peter Samuel Edward Davies, Rachel Pennington, Anil Singh Dhadwal, Linda Chokotho, Nohakhelha Nyamulani, Chiku Mpanga, Simon Matthew Graham

Erratum issuedFull text readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Peter Samuel Edward DaviesDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Ninewells Teaching Hospital, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
Rachel PenningtonThe University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
Anil Singh DhadwalLiverpool Orthopaedic and Trauma Service, Liverpool University Teaching Hospital Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Linda ChokothoAcademy of Medical Sciences, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Thyolo, Malawi.
Nohakhelha NyamulaniTrauma and Orthopaedics, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, BOX 95, Blantyre, Malawi.
Chiku MpangaTrauma and Orthopaedics, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, BOX 95, Blantyre, Malawi.
Simon Matthew GrahamLiverpool Orthopaedic and Trauma Service, Liverpool University Teaching Hospital Trust, Liverpool, UK. simon.graham@ndorms.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4091-7548

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAnkle fractures may cause disability and socioeconomic challenges, even when managed in a high-resource setting. The outcomes of ankle fractures in sub-Saharan Africa are not widely reported. We present a systematic review of the patient-reported outcomes and complications of patients treated for ankle fractures in sub-Saharan Africa.

methodsMedline, Embase, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched, utilising MeSH headings and Boolean search strategies. Ten papers were included. Data included patient demographics, surgical and non-surgical management, patient-reported outcome measures and evidence of complications.

resultsA total of 555 patients with ankle fractures were included, 471 of whom were followed up (range 6 weeks-73 months). A heterogenous mix of low-quality observational studies and two methodologically poor-quality randomised trials demonstrated mixed outcomes. A preference for surgical management was found within the published studies with 87% of closed fractures being treated operatively. A total of five different outcome scoring systems were used. Most studies included in this review were published by well-resourced organisations and as such are not representative of the actual clinical practice taking place.

conclusionThe literature surrounding the clinical outcomes of ankle fractures in sub-Saharan Africa is sparse. There appears to be a preference for surgical fixation in the published literature and considering the limitations in surgical resources across sub-Saharan Africa this may not be representative of real-life care in the region.

Indexed as

Ankle FracturesAfrica South of the SaharaFracture FixationHumansAfricaAnkleFractureOutcomePROM

Identifiers

PMID36242674
PMCPMC10036281

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
reference markers read7
measurements read83
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.