Meta-analysis of reamed versus unreamed intramedullary nailing for open tibial fractures

Open fractures of the tibial diaphysis are usually caused by high-energy trauma and associated with severe bone and soft tissue injury. Reamed and unreamed intramedullary nailing are often used for treatment of tibial injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of reamed versus unreamed intramedullary nailing for open tibial fractures (OTF).

A meta-analysis was conducted according to the guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration using databases containing the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese VIP information, and WanFang Database. Randomized and semi-randomized controlled clinical trials of both reamed and unreamed intramedullary nailing for OTF treatment were analyzed using Reviewer Manager (RevMan5.0) software.

A total of 695 references were initially identified from the selected databases. However, only four studies were assessed, matching all the eligibility criteria conducted by two independent reviewers. The result showed that there was no statistical difference in healing rate, secondary surgery rate, implant failure rate, osteofascial compartment syndrome, and infection during the postoperative period between reamed and unreamed nails in OTF.

Findings of this study suggest that there was no statistical difference between reamed and unreamed intramedullary nailing in clinical treatment of OTF. However, the result of this meta-analysis should be cautiously accepted due to some limitations, and further studies are still needed.