Challenging Surgical Treatment of Displaced Articular Tibial Plateau Fractures: Do Early Knee Radiographic Features Have a Predictive Value of the Mid-Term Clinical Functional Outcomes?

Objective: To evaluate mid-term radiographic and functional outcomes of tibial plateau fracture (TPF) patients treated with the open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) technique and to find predictive factors of clinical outcomes. Methods: A retrospective, single-center study was performed enrolling a consecutive series of patients with diagnosis of TPF. All subjects were treated by ORIF between January 2010 and December 2015 at our level-1 healthcare trauma center. The inclusion criteria were: age between 18 and 75 years; ORIF technique used for articular TPF, type 41-B and 41-C, isolated or with associated injuries. The patients were divided in two groups, according to fracture patterns and compared. Their characteristics, radiographic and clinical outcomes were recorded. Radiographs 12 months after surgery were evaluated for reduction and alignment, and radiographs at 24 months to describe post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Functional outcomes were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS), the Short Form 36 (SF-36), the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), and the American Knee Society score (AKSS) questionnaires. Return to work and sport activities were also investigated. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed, and the statistical significance was defined as two-tailed P < 0.05. Results: Forty-five patients were included, 29 males and 16 females; the mean age was 54.5 years. The mean followup was 57.18 months (range, 26–94). There were AO 41-B fractures (partial articular fractures) in more than half of the patients (66.67%), while the remaining 15 had AO 41-C fractures (complete articular fractures). The sub-type AO 41-B3 was the most common, reported in 62.22% of patients. The mean KOOS score was 69.0. Mean AKSS and SF-36 PCS scores were 79.0 and 41.4, respectively. There were significant relationships between age and functional results (KOOS ADL, Sport, QoL, and SF-36 PCS) and between BMI and KOOS Pain, ADL, Sport, and QoL. No differences were found between the two types of fractures regarding quality of reduction and alignment. AO 41-C TPF tend to develop PTOA more frequently with respect to 41-B fractures, while type AO 41-C TPF had the worst clinical outcomes. We found that the presence of an articular step-off and the malalignment of the tibial axis after surgery were predictive of daily pain felt by patients. PTOA was predictive of a worse AKSS. The overall complication rate was 13.33%: 1 superficial wound infection, 1 deep vein thrombosis, and 4 cases of transitory deficit of the common peroneal nerve. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that early radiographic features may be predictive for pain perceived by patients at mid-term follow-up.