Table 1.
Patient demographics for tibial plateau fractures and tibial plafond fractures
| Parameter | Early external fixation (n = 42) | Delayed external fixation (n = 45) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tibial plateau fractures | |||
| Age (years) | 42 (SD 11, median 43, range 25–77) | 45 (SD 12, median 44, range 25–65) | 0.29 |
| Male gender | 27 (64%) | 28 (62%) | 1.0 |
| Diabetes | 3 (7%) | 5 (11%) | 0.72 |
| Tobacco use | 10 (24%) | 11 (24%) | 1.0 |
| Work-related | 1 (2%) | 2 (4%) | 1.0 |
| Injury Severity Score | 8 (SD 4, median 4, range 4–27) | 7 (SD 7, median 5, range 4–21) | 0.23 |
| Mechanism | |||
| MVC | 9 (21%) | 6 (13%) | |
| MCC | 11 (26%) | 10 (22%) | |
| Fall | 9 (21%) | 12 (26%) | |
| Skiing | 5 (12%) | 7 (16%) | |
| Pedestrian versus automobile | 4 (10%) | 3 (7%) | |
| ATV/snowmobile | 2 (5%) | 3 (7%) | |
| Other (crush, etc) | 2 (5%) | 4 (9%) | |
| Parameter | Early external fixation (n = 38) | Delayed external fixation (n = 34) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tibial plafond fractures | |||
| Age (years) | 41 (SD 11, median 40, range 21–74) | 42 (SD 14, median 44, range 20–63) | 0.77 |
| Male gender | 30 (79%) | 26 (77%) | 1.0 |
| Diabetes | 3 (8%) | 2 (6%) | 1.0 |
| Tobacco use | 7 (18%) | 12 (35%) | 0.12 |
| Work-related | 10 (26%) | 4 (12%) | 0.14 |
| Injury Severity Score | 8 (SD 8, median 5, range 4–27) | 8 (SD 6, median 4, range 4–34) | 0.86 |
| Mechanism | |||
| MVC | 9 (24%) | 3 (9%) | |
| MCC | 4 (10%) | 4 (12%) | |
| Fall | 20 (53%) | 25 (73%) | |
| ATV/snowmobile | 0 (0%) | 1 (3%) | |
| Other (crush, etc) | 5 (13%) | 1 (3%) | |
MVC = motor vehicle collision; MCC = motorcycle collision; ATV = all-terrain vehicle.