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Plate osteosynthesis in patellar fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

To perform a systematic review and assess the indications, outcomes, complications, and union rates associated with plate osteosynthesis in patellar fractures compared to tension band wiring.

Methods

The systematic search was conducted for articles in PubMed, Embase Biomedical, Cochrane central, and LILACS databases (date of inception to July 30, 2020). Articles were included if they were randomized control trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and case series (with more than five cases), which focused on the clinical outcomes of patients with plate osteosynthesis as a treatment for fracture of the patella and had a minimum follow-up of 3 months. All studies were assessed according to their level of evidence, the number of patients, age of patients, fracture patterns described, complications of treatment, and results summarized. Meta-analysis could only be done for two parameters (complications and reoperations) due to the paucity of data and heterogeneity of studies’ limited statistical analysis. The data are presented as a review table with the key points summarized.

Results

Twenty studies (seven prospective and 13 retrospective articles) identified 533 patients with 534 fractures who had undergone plate osteosynthesis for fracture of the patella. The most common fracture treated with plate osteosynthesis was 34C.

Conclusion

Basket plate was most commonly used for inferior pole fractures, while mesh plates were for intra-articular patella fractures. Overall plating was associated with better clinical outcomes, fewer complication rates, and high union rates compared to tension band wiring for patella fractures.

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Funding

No funding of any sort was received for the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, India, 249203

    Balgovind S. Raja, Aakash Jain, Souvik Paul, Arghya Kundu Choudhury & Roop Bhushan Kalia

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  1. Balgovind S. Raja
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  2. Aakash Jain
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  3. Souvik Paul
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  4. Arghya Kundu Choudhury
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  5. Roop Bhushan Kalia
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Contributions

All authors have contributed to the conceptualization, design, acquisition of data, drafting, and review of this article and approve the version to be published. B.S.R involved in planning of study and writing the manuscript. A.J involved in the literature search, writing the manuscript, and data analysis. S.P involved in analysis, data management, and preparation of the manuscript. A.K.C involved in data management and writing and overall manuscript preparation. R.B.K involved in planning of study and writing and revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Roop Bhushan Kalia.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Raja, B.S., Jain, A., Paul, S. et al. Plate osteosynthesis in patellar fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 32, 1627–1640 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-021-03143-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-021-03143-5

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