Objective: To report on all complications experienced by patients with displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures (DIACFs) following nonoperative management or open reduction internal fixation (ORIF).
Design: Prospective, randomized, multicenter study.
Setting: Four level I trauma centers.
Patients: The patient population consisted of consecutive patients, age 17 to 65 at the time of injury, presenting to 1 of the centers with DIACFs between April 1991 and December 1998.
Interventions: Patients were randomized to the nonoperative treatment group or to operative reduction using a lateral approach to the calcaneus.
Main outcome measurements: Follow-up for patients was at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 12 months, 24 months, and once greater than 24 months following injury. At each follow-up interval, patients were assessed for the development of major and minor complications. After a minimum of 2-year follow-up, patients were asked to fill out a validated visual analogue scale questionnaire (VAS) and a general health review (SF-36).
Results: There were 226 DIACFs (206 patients) in the ORIF group with 57 of 226 (25%) fractures (57 of 206 patients [28%]) having at least 1 major complication. Of 233 fractures (218 patients) nonoperatively managed, 42 (18%) (42 of 218 patients [19%]) developed at least 1 major complication (indirectly resulting in surgery).
Conclusion: Complications occur regardless of the management strategy chosen for DIACFs and despite management by experienced surgeons. Complications are a cause of significant morbidity for patients. Outcome scores in this study tend to support ORIF for calcaneal fractures. However, ORIF patients are more likely to develop complications. Certain patient populations (WCB and Sanders type IV) developed a high incidence of complications regardless of the management strategy chosen.