An alternative to the orthopaedic traction table (fracture table): A prototype of low cost, easy reproduction and good applicability

Abstract

Abstract
 Background: Orthopaedic traction tables are used as an aid in numerous surgical procedures. The present paper aims to present a prototype of an external device of lower limb traction, which is portable, of simple construction, and can be installed on any operating table, with possible application in surgical and teaching practices. We will compare the quality of radiographic images obtained with the help of this prototype (PT) to those images obtained with the aid of the conventional traction table (CT).
 Materials and methods: Cross-sectional, observational, and double blind study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee. On two occasions 36 randomly selected radiographs of the lower limbs, 18 of which obtained on the CT and the remaining on the PT, were evaluated by nine physicians. These radiographs were obtained from three volunteer and none of them presented musculoskeletal system disorders previously diagnosed in the study. Examiners rated each picture from 1 to 5, according to the quality of the image obtained. The responses were submitted to statistical analysis by SPSS ®, v23. Comparisons were considered significant when p <0.05, with a 95% confidence interval.
 Results: The average ratings were similar and all significance tests between the averages were higher than 0.9. The intra-observer agreement was 76.13% for the PT and 82.69% for the CT. The inter-observer agreement was low for both models. Due to its lower weight and smaller size compared to the CT and the material used for prototyping, the production cost of the PT is quite affordable.
 Conclusions: The PT presented in this paper is a good alternative to CT.
 
 Keywords: Traction table, Fracture table, Orthopaedic surgery, Orthopaedic prototype, Lower limbs.