Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2001 May;15(4):275-9.
doi: 10.1097/00005131-200105000-00007.

Age, gender, work capability, and worker's compensation in patients with displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Age, gender, work capability, and worker's compensation in patients with displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures

T V Tufescu et al. J Orthop Trauma. 2001 May.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine which demographic variables are linked with outcome in displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures. The variables studied were age, gender, work capability, Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) support, and injury type.

Design: A prospective cohort study with a minimum of two years of follow-up.

Setting: A university-affiliated Level I trauma hospital.

Patients: One hundred sixty-nine patients who required treatment for displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures treated by a single surgeon. To be included in the study, patients had to be aged between fifteen and sixty-five years at the time of the injury, have closed injuries, and have posterior facet displacement greater than two millimeters.

Intervention: Patients were treated nonoperatively or operatively, using a lateral approach to the calcaneus.

Main outcome measurements: Outcome was measured by return of patients to full-time work, change in work capability after treatment, the SF-36 health survey, and visual analog scales.

Results: Male gender, medium and heavy labor, presence of WCB support, and presence of bilateral intraarticular fractures all proved to be associated with a poorer prognosis. Female patients did well when treated nonoperatively and operatively, whereas male patients always were less able to return to work at the same level as before the injury. Operatively treated patients returned to work quicker (average, eighty-seven days).

Conclusions: Males, multiply injured patients, and heavy laborers may have better outcomes with operative treatment, whereas females and non-WCB patients may do better with nonoperative treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources