title: Outcome validation of the AO/OTA fracture classification system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a greater severity of injury as documented by the AO/OTA code would correlate with poor scores of impairment, functional performance, and self-reported health status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, functional outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three Level One Trauma Centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred patients with unilateral and isolated lower extremity fractures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six- and twelve-month SIP, AMA impairment, and functional performance measures of self-selected walking speed, stair climbing, heel raises, rising from a chair, balance work.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At six months post injury, overall impairment was significantly (p < 0.05) higher for patients with Type C versus Type B fractures. A significant difference was found among the A, B, C types and the ROM impairment rating at six months (p = 0.004). Using the Scheffe method, the significant difference was determined to be between the B- and C-type fractures. Overall functional performance scores at six months were shown to have significant (p = 0.01) variation using an ANOVA with the significant variation being between the B and C type. At twelve months, the overall functional performance was significant (p = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with C-type fractures had significantly worse functional performance and impairment compared with patients with B-type fractures but were not significantly different from patients with A-type fractures. AO/OTA code may not be a good predictor of six- and twelve-month functional performance and impairment for patients with isolated unilateral lower extremity fractures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Swiontkowski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Agel
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: McAndrew
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: MacKenzie
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000145:classification* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000145:classification*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012955:Societies, Medical