Abstract
IntroductionA Dutch survey among orthopedic surgeons and trauma surgeons showed that almost 90% of the surgeons do not follow protocols regarding the weight bearing aftercare for tibial plateau fractures. Clinical studies comparing permissive weight bearing (PWB) versus restricted weight bearing (RWB) after surgically treated tibial plateau fractures are not available. The aim of this study was to inventory potential differences in quality of life and pain, and number of complications in patients with surgically treated tibial plateau fractures who followed a PWB regime, relative to those that followed a RWB regime.Materials and methodsThis retrospective cohort study included surgically treated trauma patients with tibial plateau fractures, who underwent rehabilitation according to PWB or RWB between 2005 and 2015. Data such as demographics, patient-reported quality of life and pain, and patient outcome were collected.ResultsThis cohort study included 91 patients with a tibial plateau fracture (31 and 60 patients in the PWB and RWB groups respectively). No significant between-group differences in either age or gender were found. However, a significant difference in fracture type was found between groups, (p = 0.04). No significant differences were found in either patient-reported SF-12 or VAS scores between the PWB group and RWB group. Time to full weight bearing was significantly shorter in the PWB than in the RWB group, i.e., 14.7 versus 20.7 weeks, (p = 0.02). No significant differences were found regarding postoperative complications between the PWB and the RWB groups, i.e., 6.5% versus 10.0%, respectively.ConclusionPWB after surgically treated tibial plateau fractures is safe and is related to a significantly reduced time to full weight bearing with no significant differences in patient-reported quality of life and pain or complication rates.
Highlights
A Dutch survey among orthopedic surgeons and trauma surgeons showed that almost 90% of the surgeons do not follow protocols regarding the weight bearing aftercare for tibial plateau fractures
This cohort study included 91 patients, 31 of whom were in the permissive weight bearing (PWB) group and 60 in the restricted weight bearing (RWB) group
Patient‐reported quality of life and pain was significantly higher in the PWB group than in the RWB group: 58.1% versus 28.3% (p < 0.01)
Summary
A Dutch survey among orthopedic surgeons and trauma surgeons showed that almost 90% of the surgeons do not follow protocols regarding the weight bearing aftercare for tibial plateau fractures. The aim of this study was to inventory potential differences in quality of life and pain, and number of complications in patients with surgically treated tibial plateau fractures who followed a PWB regime, relative to those that followed a RWB regime. Materials and methods This retrospective cohort study included surgically treated trauma patients with tibial plateau fractures, who underwent rehabilitation according to PWB or RWB between 2005 and 2015. Data such as demographics, patientreported quality of life and pain, and patient outcome were collected. Conclusion PWB after surgically treated tibial plateau fractures is safe and is related to a significantly reduced time to full weight bearing with no significant differences in patient-reported quality of life and pain or complication rates.
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