Functional outcome and quality of life in patients with Type B ankle fractures: a two-year follow-up study.
OBJECTIVE
To compare a specific score designed for ankle fractures with a general quality-of-life instrument as an outcome measure, and to describe the two-year results for patients with Type B ankle fractures.


METHODS
Follow-up study.


METHODS
Large teaching hospital, Sweden.


METHODS
Fifty-three patients, aged nineteen to sixty-three years, treated operatively for Type B ankle fractures. Forty-one patients completed the follow-up.


METHODS
Olerud Molander Ankle Score (OMA score), Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), and a visual analogue scale (VAS).


RESULTS
A significant correlation was found between the OMA score and SF-36 subscores for physical functioning, physical and emotional role function, social functioning, and bodily pain (p < 0.05). VAS for physical symptoms correlated with the OMA score and with all SF-36 subscores (p < 0.001). The mean OMA score was 84 (standard deviation = 22.5); 64 percent of patients scored 90 or more. Patients with an OMA score <90 more often had a B3-type fracture (p < 0.05) and more often considered themselves as not recovered compared with patients with an OMA score > or =90 (p < 0.001). Only thirteen patients (36 percent) reported a complete recovery. Sixteen patients (44 percent) had work-related problems and twenty-two (61 percent) had some problems with sport activities. The SF-36 subscores for physical functioning, physical and emotional role function, vitality, and mental health were lower compared with an average Swedish population (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the SF-36 Health Survey may be useful in measuring outcome after an ankle fracture, that disability, i.e., self-perceived limitations in everyday life, is common after B-type ankle fractures.
Karolinska Institutet, Department of Orthopaedics, Stockholm Söder Hospital, Sweden.
S
S
Ponzer
H
H
Nåsell
B
B
Bergman
H
H
Törnkvist
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000503:physiopathology; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000379:methods; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome