Age-Related Variances in Patients with Tibial Plateau Fractures

J Knee Surg DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1683893Tibial plateau fractures account for approximately 8% of fractures in the elderly population. Treatment strategies in the elderly are similar to those for younger patients; however, practitioners must account for the elevated comorbidity burden in this population. To date, few studies have analyzed age-based outcomes in patients with tibial plateau fractures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine age-related variances in demographics, fracture characteristics, mechanism of injury, and complications. A 10-year retrospective review was conducted to identify patients who received treatment for a tibial plateau fracture. There were 351 patients (360 tibial plateau fractures) who were identified and subsequently stratified according to their age at the time of injury. Patients were classified as elderly if they were 65 years of age or older at the time of injury; all other patients were included in the control cohort. These two cohorts were analyzed using bivariate analysis to isolate for age-related variations with respect to risk factors, mechanism of injury, and complications. There were 351 patients (360 tibial plateau fractures) with a median follow-up of 1.84 ± 2.44 years who met inclusion criteria. There were a greater proportion of women in the elderly cohort as compared with the younger cohort (60.0 vs. 43.4%, p = 0.06). Elderly patients were significantly more likely to present with diabetes (33.3 vs. 16.1%,...
Source: Journal of Knee Surgery - Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research