Frequency and reporting of complications after Dupuytren's contracture interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous complications are reported following interventions for Dupuytren's contracture; however, their incidence, management, and outcomes remain poorly reported. The aims of this review were to report the proportions of complications, compare likelihood of complications between interventions, and evaluate reporting of complications, including assessment, grading, management, and subsequent reporting of their impact on patient outcomes.

METHODS: Extracted data included patient demographics, intervention details, complications, their management, and final outcomes. Analysis of descriptive data enabled review of complications reporting. Meta-analysis(MA) of non-comparative datasets enabled estimation of proportions of patients experiencing complications. Network meta-analysis(NMA) of comparative studies estimated the relative occurrence of complications between interventions. Risk of bias analysis was performed.

RESULTS: 26 studies, comprising 10,831 patients, were included. Interventions included collagenase injection, percutaneous needle fasciotomy(PNF), limited fasciectomy(LF), open fasciotomy(OF), and dermofasciectomy(DF). Overall quality and consistency of outcomes reporting was poor. MA enabled estimates of probabilities for three common complications(infection, nerve injury, complex regional pain syndrome(CRPS)) across all interventions; the reported rates for LF were 4.5% for infection, 3% for nerve injury, and 3.3% for CRPS. As the commonest intervention, LF was used as the reference intervention for comparison of the commonest complications via NMA, including haematoma [OF OR 0.450(0.277, 0.695); PNF OR 0.245(0.114, 0.457)], infection [PNF OR 0.2(0.0287, 0.690); DF OR 2.02(1.02, 3.74)], and neuropraxia [PNF OR 0.0926(0.00553, 0.737)]. We noted that the complication incidence was higher the more invasive the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: There was limited reporting of complication occurrence, management, and outcomes following interventions, contributing to a gap in information for informed patient consent. MA was possible for reporting of proportions for infection, nerve injury, and CRPS across interventions. NMA enabled direct comparison of the six commonest complications between interventions. These findings can guide intervention selection. Improving consistency and quality in complications reporting is essential to aid counselling of patients regarding the true rates and consequences of the risks of interventions.

TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.