. 2019 May 19;9(5):e024737. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024737

Table 3.

Outcomes: measures used and main findings

Study ID	Patient mobility and function	Pain	Fracture union	Hospital length of stay	Additional operative procedures (for complication or as part of routine treatment) received: number of patients	Complications: AE and SAE Details of event: number of patients (overall/per group)
Arduini et al ³⁴	Mobility description Independent = 11 One crutch = 2 Two crutches = 1	Not measured	% healed at 6 months 100%	Mean 5.8 days	One intra-pelvic iliac screw removed but no vascular, neurological or internal organ lesion was seen: 1	No neurological palsy or vascular lesions were observed and no patients needed ICU. No major complications
Gänsslen et al ³³	Not stated, but degree of weight-bearing reported Pre-op: FWB = 24 Frame = 1 At discharge: FWB = 14 (56%) Crutches with PWB on affected side = 4 PWB = 7 At ExFix removal: Return to pre-injury mobility = 88% PWB = 3	VAS Preoperative: 7.7±1.4 (4 to 10) Postoperative: 2.3±1.7 (p<0.0001) Reduction pre to postop: 5.3±2 (2 to 9) At fixator removal: 0.6 (0 to 5) (p<0.0003) Reduction postop and at implant removal: 1.8±2.1. Pain free: 21 (84%) Mild pain (VAS 1 to 2): 3 Worse pain(VAS 5): 1 No change/1 point change: 10 Remaining patients showed improvement: 3.1 points	Not measured	Total LOS 11±5.2 days (4 to 24 days) Postop LOS 7±5.4 (1 to 18 days)	ExFix removed after an average 4±1.6 weeks (3 to 8 weeks): 25 56% were removed after 3 weeks	Pin-infections treated with antibiotics: 2 No cases of postoperative nerve lesions or pin perforations seen
Höch et al ³⁶	Not measured	VAS Non-operative: 3.1 (SD 2.3) Failed non-operative: 2.3 (SD 2.8) Operative: 2.6 SD (2.8) p>0.5	Not measured	Non-Operative 9.2 (SD 6.2) days Operative group 18.1 (SD 10.0 days) (p<0.001)	Mal-positioning of iliosacral screw with neurological complaints: 3 (6%) Wound infection with salvaging of the osteosynthesis: 1 (2%)	Non-Op 6 (8%) Severe complications: 2 Pneumonia: 2 Thrombosis: 2 Mesenteric infarction: 1 ARDS: 1 Surgery 9 (18%) Severe complications: 1 Pneumonia: 1 Thrombosis: 1 Diarrhoea: 1 Blood transfusions: 2 Implant loosening: 1 Delayed union: 1 Delayed surgery sub-group: 2 (14%) complications recorded
Hopf et al ³⁵	Not measured	VAS 0 to 10 preop, second day postoperative, pain at discharge Admission = 6.8 second day mean = 3.6 p<0.001 Discharge mean = 1.8 p<0.001 long-term pain = 6 in two patients	Not measured	Mean=23.7 days, range 8 to 54 days	Complications: 3 Intra-op blood loss: 1 Nerve irritation/screw malposition: 1 Gluteal haematoma: 2	Three patients Pneumonia: 2 UTI: 2

AE, adverse event; ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; ExFix, external fixator; FWB, full weight-bearing; ICU, intensive care unit; LFCN, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve; LOS, length of stay; PWB, partial weight-bearing; SAE, serious adverse event; UTI, urinary tract infection; VAS, visual analogue scale.