Computed tomography micromotion analysis in the follow-up of patients with surgically treated pelvic fractures: a prospective clinical study

PURPOSE: High-energy pelvic fractures are complex injuries often requiring surgical treatment. Different radiological methods exist to evaluate the reduction and healing process postoperatively but with certain limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate Computed Tomography Micromotion Analysis (CTMA) in a clinical setting for follow-up of surgically treated pelvic fracture patients. METHODS: 10 patients surgically treated for a pelvic fracture were included and prospectively followed with Computed Tomography (CT) at 0, 6, 12 and 52 weeks postoperatively. CTMA was used to measure postoperative translation and rotation of the pelvic fracture during the 52 weeks follow-up. Clinical outcomes were collected through the questionnaires EQ-5D index score and Majeed score. RESULTS: 10 patients were included with mean age (± SD, min–max) 52 (16, 31–80) years and 70% (n = 7) were males. The median (IQR, min–max) global translation from 0 to 52 weeks was 6.0 (4.6, 1.4–12.6) millimeters and median global rotation was 2.6 (2.4, 0.7–4.7) degrees. The general trend was a larger translation between 0 and 6 weeks postoperatively compared to 6–12 and 12–52 weeks. For the clinical outcomes, the general trend was that all patients started from high scores which decreased in the first postoperative follow-up and recovered to different extent during the study period. CONCLUSION: CTMA was successfully used in the follow-up of surgically treated pelvic fracture patients. Movement in the pelvic fractures after surgical fixation was largest between 0 and 6 weeks.