Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39982461›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society2025

Clavicle refractures after hardware removal: are there risk factors? A retrospective cohort study.

Franziska Kessler, Yannik Kalbas, Jan Hambrecht, Victoria Wlach, Sascha Halvachizadeh, Roman Pfeifer, Hans-Christoph Pape, Felix Karl-Ludwig Klingebiel, Christian Hierholzer

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Article in European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

9 authors.

Franziska KesslerHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9084-3549
Yannik KalbasHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1550-328X
Jan HambrechtHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-4152-7465
Victoria WlachHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Sascha HalvachizadehHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1393-3232
Roman PfeiferHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1543-3995
Hans-Christoph PapeHarald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2059-4980
Felix Karl-Ludwig Klingebiel *Harald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland. felixkarl-ludwig.klingebiel@usz.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6438-5208
Christian Hierholzer *Harald-Tscherne Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Trauma Research, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Ramistr. 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-5009-2608

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeRemoval of symptomatic hardware after fracture fixation is common, especially in patients with clavicle fracture. Yet, refracture after hardware removal is a relatively common complication in those patients. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for clavicle refractures that could be influenced by the surgical treatment provided.

methodsAll patients from a level one trauma center from 2017 to 2022 were screened for eligibility. Inclusion criteria included hardware removal after plate osteosynthesis of the clavicle, age ≥ 18 years, and signed informed consent. Groups were stratified according to occurrence of refracture: no-refracture (NR) vs. refracture (R). Nearest-neighbor matching in a ratio of 5:1 was performed. Parameter investigated included baseline demographics, fracture characteristics and surgical treatment details. A subgroup analysis of only clavicle shaft fractures was performed.

resultsSixty patients were included with 50 patients in Group NR and 10 in Group R. Baseline characteristics were comparable between the groups. A subgroup analysis on shaft fractures revealed that a significantly larger working length (number of empty screw holes adjacent to the fracture site) in Group NR (1.94 ± 0.85) compared to the refracture group (1.20 ± 0.92) (p = 0.042). Logistic regression yielded an inverse correlation with the number of empty screw holes to the fracture site and the occurrence of refractures (OR 0.369, 95% CI 0.132-0.873; p = 0.035). Time in situ, lag screw application, plate positioning and the total amount of screws did not affect either of the groups.

conclusionAn increased working length in patients with clavicle shaft fractures might be a protective measure for occurrence of refractures after hardware removal.

Indexed as

ClavicleDevice RemovalFracture Fixation, InternalFractures, BonePostoperative ComplicationsAdultBone PlatesBone ScrewsFemaleHardware RemovalHumansMaleMiddle AgedRecurrenceRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsClavicle fractureRefractureWorking length

Identifiers

PMID39982461
PMCPMC11845419

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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.