Trial reportEuropean journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie2024
Prospective randomized controlled trial: early weight bearing after conservative treatment of Weber B ankle fractures (pancake trial).
Trial report in European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Early weight-bearing following surgical fixation of ankle fractures without trans-syndesmotic fixation: safety and early functional outcomes - a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Comparison of operatively and nonoperatively treated isolated Weber B ankle fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Pooled it
- Percutaneous versus open cannulated screws fixation for displaced isolated medial malleolar fractures in adults: a randomized controlled clinical trial.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2025Trial
- [Management of geriatric ankle fractures-Conservative treatment works well].Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Lower incidence of new onset depressive mood disorders associated with early postoperative weight-bearing versus non-weight bearing following fixation of femur and tibia fractures.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2025Article
- Effect of early weight bearing on rehabilitation in ankle fractures with syndesmotic injuries.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Weight-Bearing Versus Non-Weight-Bearing After Ankle Fracture: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcome.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Removable brace as a viable alternative to cast immobilization for ankle fractures-a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeDifferent studies have shown that weightbearing is safe in stable transsyndesmotic, isolated lateral simple ankle fractures. Despite this evidence, AO guidelines still recommend immobilization with above-the-knee cast for 4-6 weeks for these fractures. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of mobilization and weightbearing to those of immobilization and non-weightbearing in patients with stable transsyndesmotic, lateral isolated simple ankle fractures.
methodsFifty patients were randomly assigned to permissive weightbearing in a walking boot or non-weightbearing immobilization using a below-the-knee cast. Primary outcome was ankle functionality as scored by the Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS). Secondary outcomes were radiological displacement of fracture, range of motion (ROM), calf circumference, and RAND 36-item health survey. Patients were in follow-up for 24 months.
resultsAnkle functionality after six and twelve weeks was significantly higher for the intervention group, with respectively 30 points (p = 0.001) and 10 points (p = 0.015) of difference. ROM improved significantly in the intervention group after six weeks. All fractures showed radiological progression of fracture healing. RAND 36-item showed differences in both physical (60.3 vs. 46.3, p = 0.017) and mental (78.5 vs. 58.2, p = 0.034) components in favor of the intervention group. In 16% of patients who initially showed stable fractures on radiographic imaging, joint dislocation was identified on weightbearing radiographs prior to randomization, leading to exclusion.
conclusionWeightbearing and mobilization using a walking boot may be a safe treatment for patients with stable Weber B fractures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.