Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the epidemiology of ankle fractures surgically treated at the Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo. METHODS: Medical records of patients admitted with foot and ankle fractures between 2006 and 2011 were revised. Seventy three ankle fractures that underwent surgical treatment were identified. The parameters analyzed included age, gender, injured side, AO and Gustilo & Anderson classification, associated injuries, exposure, need to urgent treatment, time to definitive treatment and early post-operative complications. Study design: retrospective epidemiological study. RESULTS: Male gender was predominant among subjects and the mean age was 27.5 years old. Thirty nine fractures resulted from traffic accidents and type B fracture according to AO classification was the most common. Twenty one were open fractures and 22 patients had associated injuries. The average time to definitive treatment was 6.5 days. Early post-operative complications were found in 21.3% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Ankle fractures treated in a tertiary hospital of a large city in Brazil affect young people victims of high-energy accidents and present significant rates of associated injuries and post-operative complications. Level of Evidence IV, Cases Series.
Highlights
Sports injuries are a major cause of fractures of the foot and ankle, but high-energy trauma are responsible for the most serious sequelae
Thirty-four associated injuries of the musculoskeletal system were found, distributed in 22 patients. (Figure 4) The most common site of associated injury was in the ipsilateral foot of the ankle fracture in 11 feet, representing 14.9% of the patients studied
We believe that the high turnout of traffic accidents, motorcycle accidents, as a cause of fracture contributed to this fact
Summary
Sports injuries are a major cause of fractures of the foot and ankle, but high-energy trauma are responsible for the most serious sequelae. Among the 236 patients who sought treatment in the physiotherapy department at a sports club in Minas Gerais because of injuries due to the practice of indoor soccer, 20.1% had injuries in the ankle region, being ankle sprain the more common injury.[5] Another study conducted over the 23 games of the XV Brazilian Indoor Soccer Championship with teams formed by athletes under 20 years old (“Sub20”) conducted in 2004 revealed that among the 32 injuries occurred, the ankle was affected in 18.7% of them, and again the sprain was the most common injury.[6] In both studies, fractures had no significant effect. The most common injury of the foot and ankle region was the lateral sprain, found in 22 of 165 patients practitioners of this sport. In a study conducted with 930 surf practitioners in Brazil, 13 cases of fracture and 42 sprains in the lower limbs were found, All the authors declare that there is no potential conflict of interest referring to this article
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
