Minimally Invasive Surgery vs Nonoperative Treatment for Displaced Intraarticular Calcaneal Fracture: A Prospective Propensity Score Matched Cohort Study With 2-Year Follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Optimal management of displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures remains controversial. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes of minimally invasive surgery vs nonoperative treatment in displaced intraarticular calcaneal fracture up to 2 years.

METHODS: All displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures between August 2014 and January 2019 that presented to a level 1 trauma center were considered for inclusion. The decision to treat was made by a multidisciplinary team consisting of fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons. Operative treatment protocol involved sinus tarsi approach or percutaneous reduction and internal fixation. Nonoperative protocol involved symptomatic management with no attempt at closed reduction. The Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) and EuroQol-5 Dimensions-5 Level (EQ-5D-5L) patient-reported outcome measures were used to assess foot and ankle and general health related quality of life outcomes, respectively, at 2-year follow-up. Radiographic assessment was performed based on preinjury and 12-week postinjury radiographs.

RESULTS: A total of 101 patients were included for analysis between August 2014 and January 2019. We propensity score matched 46 patients in the surgical cohort to 46 patients in the nonsurgical cohort. At 24 months, there was no significant difference in the MOXFQ Index score ( P  > .05); however, the surgical cohort had a significantly higher EQ-5D-5L Index score ( P  < .05) and return to work (91% vs 72%, P  < .05) and physical activity rate (46 vs 35%, P  < .05) despite a higher proportion of more complex fractures in the surgical cohort. The wound complication rate following surgery was 16%. In addition, 14% of patients in the nonoperative cohort subsequently underwent arthrodesis compared with none of the patients in the surgical cohort.

CONCLUSION: In this study, we found that operative treatments were associated with low rates of surgical complication at 2 years and long-term pain improvement, facilitating earlier and better functional outcomes for complex injury patterns compared with nonoperative treatment for less severe fractures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective cohort.