GENERAL HEALTH STATUS FOLLOWING CLAVICLE FRACTURE: RESULTS OF A RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL

Purpose In a previously published multicenter randomized clinical trial it was shown that young patients (16–60 years-old) with displaced mid-shaft clavicle fractures had superior limb specific outcomes when they were treated with primary plate fixation versus non operative treatment at one year follow-up. This study examines the general health status of this cohort of patients at two-years post injury. Method We evaluated the general health of a cohort of patients with displaced mid-shaft clavicle fractures comparing non-operative versus plate fixation at two-years after injury. At the conclusion of our study, eighty-nine patients (fifty-four from the operative group and thirty-five from the non-operative group) completed the two-year follow-up. Outcome analysis included the standard clinical follow-up and SF-36 scores. Results SF-36 scores were significantly improved in the operative fixation group at all time-points: 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, 24 months (P Conclusion Operative treatment more reliably restored pre-operative levels of general health status compared to non-operative treatment. Operative fixation of a displaced mid-shaft clavicle fracture in young active patients resulted in improved patient oriented general health status at two-year follow-up. The improvement is especially pronounced in the physical component of the SF-36 scores. These findings support primary plate fixation of displaced mid-shaft clavicle fractures in young active adults.