Source - Healio
Fracture height, medial joint space and bone attenuation were determined to be useful predictors of unstable syndesmotic SER-type ankle fractures, according to a study.
The retrospective study included 191 patients who underwent surgical fixation of SER-type ankle fractures. Age, sex and mechanism of injury (ie, low- or high-energy trauma), as well as radiographs and CT imaging scans, were reviewed for all patients. Researchers performed binary logistic regression analysis to identify all predictors of unstable syndesmotic injuries.
Overall, 38 patients (19.9%) had a concurrent unstable syndesmotic injury. Age, sex, mechanism of injury, fracture height, medial joint space and bone attenuation were significantly different between stable or unstable syndesmotic patients, according to the researchers.
Through binary logistic analysis, the researchers found that fracture height, medial joint space and bone attenuation were significant factors contributing to unstable syndesmotic injuries.
Cutoff values for predicting unstable syndesmotic injuries on CT scans were fracture height of 3 mm or larger and medial joint space of 4.9 mm or larger; cutoff values on radiograph were fracture height of 7 mm or larger and medial joint space of 4.5 mm or larger.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.