Three-year functional outcome after open pelvic fracture treatment: a retrospective case series from a level I trauma center

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Open pelvic fractures have high mortality rates, and survivors may have ongoing functional deficits from severe trauma and invasive life-saving procedures. However, there are limited reports regarding the functional status evaluation following open pelvic fractures. We aimed to report the treatment experiences and short-term functional outcomes of patients with open pelvic fractures. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data of 19 consecutive patients with pelvic fractures who underwent treatment at a single institute between January 2014 and June 2018. The resuscitation protocol, osteosynthesis strategy, reduction quality of the pelvic ring, and functional outcomes were analyzed. Results The incidence and mortality rates in patients with open pelvic fractures were 4.9 and 21.6%, respectively. Ten, one, and seven of the open wounds related to the pelvic fractures were located in Faringer zones I, II, and III, respectively. Fractures of four patients were categorized as classes 1 and 2, and those of 11 patients as class 3, according to the Jones–Powell classification. Eleven of 19 (57.9%) and 9 of 19 (47.5%) revealed excellent reduction quality by Matta/Torenetta and Lefaivre criteria, respectively. The Merle d'Aubigné score improved at each evaluation but stagnated after 24 months. The Majeed hip score also improved at the 12-month evaluation but the improvement stopped thereafter. At a 3-year follow-up, the patients with excellent reduction of the pelvic ring showed the highest functional performances. Conclusion Improvements in functional status of patients with open pelvic fractures can be anticipated based on the reduction quality of the pelvis ring.