Table 4.

Consolidation time by technique – only studies included with joints affected by osteoarthritis. The table depicts the consolidation times (mean ± s.d.) in weeks. Again, there were no statistically significant differences between any analyzed technique in comparison to K-wires. Also, we made a comparison of compression vs non-compression techniques of the mean consolidation time, without statistically significant difference (P = 0.830).

Technique	Studies (n)	Individuals (n)	Consolidation times (weeks)
Tension-band	10	263	9.5 ± 2.2
K-wires	11	668	8.6 ± 1.5
Compression screw	9	255	7.7 ± 1.3
Interosseus wiring	7	187	8.5 ± 2.4
Pin fixation	7	82	6.9 ± 1.7
Peg fixation	3	63	7.3 ± 2.3
Plate	3	64	9.2 ± 3.0
Total	50	1582	8.2 ± 2.0