Background: Osteoporosis may impair fracture healing and fixation durability after ankle ORIF. This study evaluated postoperative complications of preoperative osteoporosis.
Methods: Patients undergoing ankle ORIF from 2004 to 2022 with ≥ 2 years of follow-up were identified from a multi-institutional database. Those with and without preoperative osteoporosis, defined with ICD-10 code M80 & M81, were compared using 1:1 propensity score matching; outcomes were assessed at 90 days and 2 years.
Results: Matched cohorts included 4190 patients. At 90 days, the osteoporosis group had higher device infection (1.0% vs. 0.5%; RR=2.10), DVT (1.4% vs. 0.8%; RR=1.63), and transfusion (1.9% vs. 1.1%; RR=1.63). At 2 years, device infection (2.6% vs. 1.4%; RR=1.80) and hardware removal (14.2% vs. 11.6%; RR=1.23) were elevated.
Conclusions: Osteoporosis is associated with increased short- and long-term complications after ankle ORIF; because these injuries are treated acutely, bone health optimization and fixation suited to osteoporotic bone are best addressed postoperatively.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1268773126002572?via%3Dihub
