Comparison of clinical efficacy of suprapatellar and infrapatellar intramedullary nailing in treating tibial shaft fractures

  • Zhonglian Zhu
  • Zhaodong Wang
  • Pinghui Zhou
  • Xuyi Wang
  • Jianzhong Guan the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College
Keywords: Intramedullary nail, Tibial shaft fracture, Suprapatellar approach, Infrapatellar approach

Abstract

Objectives: To compare clinical efficacies of suprapatellar and infrapatellar intramedullary nailing approaches in treating tibial shaft fractures.

Methods: Patients (n=110) admitted with tibial shaft fractures in our hospital from January 2017 to June 2020, who underwent procedures with internal fixation intramedullary nails, were retrospectively divided into suprapatellar and infrapatellar approach groups (n=55 each) based on the surgical method used for fracture repair. The clinical and functional outcomes of the knee were assessed six months after the surgery

Results: Six months after the operation, the pooled value for excellent and good efficacy rates in the suprapatellar approach group, as indicated by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Knee scoring system, was 90.91%, which was significantly higher than that in the infrapatellar approach group (76.36%). The degree of pain (visual analogue scale (VAS) score) of the patients in the suprapatellar approach group was over 2-fold lower than in the infrapatellar approach group (P < 0.001).The Lysholm knee score, range of motion (ROM), SF-36p, and SF-36M scores in the suprapatellar approach group were significantly higher than those in the infrapatellar approach group (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Suprapatellar approach had significantly higher clinical efficiency than infrapatellar approach, and can significantly reduce the degree of pain, promote the recovery of patients with knee joint involvement, improve the physical and psychological well-being, reduce the number of cases of postoperative delayed healing.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.7.4766

How to cite this:
Zhu Z, Wang Z, Zhou P, Wang X, Guan J. Comparison of clinical efficacy of suprapatellar and infrapatellar intramedullary nailing in treating tibial shaft fractures. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(7):1753-1757.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.7.4766

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published
2021-10-05
How to Cite
Zhu, Z., Wang, Z., Zhou, P., Wang, X., & Guan, J. (2021). Comparison of clinical efficacy of suprapatellar and infrapatellar intramedullary nailing in treating tibial shaft fractures. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 37(7). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.7.4766