The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Oct 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialOperative compared with nonoperative treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures: a prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter trial.
Open reduction and internal fixation is the treatment of choice for displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures at many orthopaedic trauma centers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether open reduction and internal fixation of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures results in better general and disease-specific health outcomes at two years after the injury compared with those after nonoperative management. ⋯ Without stratification of the groups, the functional results after nonoperative care of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures were equivalent to those after operative care. However, after unmasking the data by removal of the patients who were receiving Workers' Compensation, the outcomes were significantly better in some groups of surgically treated patients.