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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Autologous Microfractured and Purified Adipose Tissue for Arthroscopic Management of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus
Published on: January 23, 2018
Outcome validation of the AO/OTA fracture classification system
M F Swiontkowski1, J Agel, M P McAndrew
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
Objectives:
To determine whether a greater severity of injury as documented by the AO/OTA code would correlate with poor scores of impairment, functional performance, and self-reported health status.
Design:
Prospective, functional outcome.
Setting:
Three Level One Trauma Centers.
Patients/Participants:
Two hundred patients with unilateral and isolated lower extremity fractures.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Six- and twelve-month SIP, AMA impairment, and functional performance measures of self-selected walking speed, stair climbing, heel raises, rising from a chair, balance work.
Results:
At six months post injury, overall impairment was significantly (p < 0.05) higher for patients with Type C versus Type B fractures. A significant difference was found among the A, B, C types and the ROM impairment rating at six months (p = 0.004). Using the Scheffe method, the significant difference was determined to be between the B- and C-type fractures. Overall functional performance scores at six months were shown to have significant (p = 0.01) variation using an ANOVA with the significant variation being between the B and C type. At twelve months, the overall functional performance was significant (p = 0.05).
Conclusion:
Patients with C-type fractures had significantly worse functional performance and impairment compared with patients with B-type fractures but were not significantly different from patients with A-type fractures. AO/OTA code may not be a good predictor of six- and twelve-month functional performance and impairment for patients with isolated unilateral lower extremity fractures.
