Comparing non-operative management and surgical fixation in treatment of clavicle fractures

Abstract

Background: Clavicle fractures are common among males from sport injuries and the non-operative treatment has been indicated as treatment of choice. Recently, delayed healing, pain and shoulder weakness have reported as frequent complications of non-operative treatment and many studies found better outcomes with surgical treatment. This review aimed at evaluating evidence that compared non-operative treatment and surgical intervention in management of clavicle fractures to provide evidence-based data about the best modality of treatment aiming to improve patients’ outcome. Methods: A web-based search was achieved in MEDLINE resulted in 40 eligible studies. The reference lists of the articles and reviews were screened for relevant articles. After exclusion of irrelevant, duplicated and review studies, 7 studies were included in this review. Results: The outcome and success after surgical intervention compared to non-operative treatments was reported in all of the included studies. Most of the interventional studies found significant improvement in the surgical in treatment, while the majority of the non-operative group showed no improvement. Conclusions: The review of the evidence suggested that use of surgical fixation in treatment of clavicular fracture is superior to the non-operative treatment if there are no contraindications to the surgery.