ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2026
Divergent K-wires in the sagittal plane have minimal impact on fixation stability and the resulting early clinical outcomes in patients with transverse patellar fractures.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTransverse patellar fractures are typically treated with tension band wiring using Kirschner wires. This technique converts anterior tensile forces into articular compressive forces, providing the stability essential for early fracture healing and weight-bearing. Fixation configuration significantly influences stability; while divergent constructs offer superior angular stability in other fractures, AO principles recommend parallel wires to permit dynamic fragment compression. Although a divergent angle is often observed on lateral radiographs, its impact on early healing and weight-bearing remains unclear. The main objective of this study was to investigate this issue and provide theoretical guidance for optimizing TBW fixation.
methodsThis retrospective study included patients who underwent K-wire tension band fixation for transverse patellar fractures. The angle between the K-wires was measured on immediate postoperative lateral radiographs. Early fracture union and pain-free weight-bearing were assessed at the 3-month follow-up. Biomechanical models were developed to simulate varying K-wire trajectories observed radiographically. Inter-model differences in implant stress distribution and fracture fragment displacement were quantified under axial loading at different angles.
resultsClinical and biomechanical analyses revealed consistent findings. Similar K-wire divergent angles were observed in patients with differing clinical outcomes, specifically regarding early fracture union and pain-free weight-bearing. Under all loading conditions, models with different K-wire trajectories exhibited comparable stress and displacement values.
conclusionThe divergent configuration of K-wires has only a minimal impact on the stability of transverse patellar fracture fixation and on early clinical outcomes following TBW in patients with transverse patellar fractures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42919209What 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.