The Comparison Between 3.5-and 4.5-mm T-plates for Management of the Patients with Schatzker Type II Tibial Plateau Fractures that Referred to our Emergency Department: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Tibial plateau fractures have become more frequent in recent years. The most prevalent Schatzker classification is type II, which is a lateral tibial plateau fracture with depression. Our null hypothesis was that the 3.5 T-plate and the 4.5 T-plate have no difference in the management of patients with Schatzker type II tibial plateau fractures. Materials and Methods: The current study is a clinical trial that was conducted on patients with tibial plateau fractures. The Knee Society Score (KSS) was this study's main outcome. Tourniquet time (TT) and patient quality of life using the 36-item Short Form Survey Instrument (SF-36) were secondary goals of the outcomes measurement study. VAS measured pain. Among 176 patients, 89 and 87 of cases underwent surgical treatment with 3.5-mm (group A) and 4.5-mm (group B) T-plate, respectively. The data were entered into SPSS software (version 25, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY) and analyzed. Results: In our study, we evaluated 176 patients with a mean age of 34.8 +/- 15.2 years. Functional and clinical KSS scores were similar between the two groups throughout follow-up (P > 0.05). Regarding the other variables of VAS, TT, SF-36 physical function, and SF-36 mental health, no significant difference was observed between the two groups, and the two groups had similar averages in terms of these indicators (P > 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, both plates had the appropriate functional outcomes in patients with split depression tibial plateau fracture.