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Are methods to quantify osseous exposure in orthopedic surgery reliable?
Raul A Davalos1, Laura Mourafetis2, Trevor Tompane3
1Uniformed University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Injury
|December 3, 2023
Summary
Quantifying osseous exposure is unreliable with current methods, especially on varied bone surfaces. Researchers should carefully compare studies using different measurement techniques for surgical applications.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic surgery
- Surgical outcomes measurement
Background:
- Quantifying osseous exposure is critical for assessing surgical outcomes.
- Existing measurement techniques may have limitations and their reliability on different surface contours is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate limitations of current osseous exposure measurement techniques.
- To investigate the influence of surface contour on measurement accuracy and reliability.
Main Methods:
- Three methods for quantifying osseous exposure were compared: manual mesh application and two digital image analysis techniques (ImageJ).
- Synthetic bone analogs with flat, convex, and mixed surface types were used.
- Statistical analysis included ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Cronbach's alpha for reliability.
Main Results:
- Measurement techniques showed statistically significant differences across all surface types (p < 0.05).
- Internal reliability was inadequate for all techniques on convex surfaces (Cronbach's alpha < 0.70).
- The manual mesh method achieved adequate reliability only on flat and mixed surfaces.
Conclusions:
- Current methods for quantifying osseous exposure exhibit poor internal reliability.
- Caution is advised when comparing studies using different quantification techniques.
- Further research into alternative, more reliable measurement methods is recommended.
