Epidemiologic study of ankle fractures in a tertiary hospital

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the epidemiology of ankle fractures surgically treated at the Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo. METHODS: Medical records of patients admitted with foot and ankle fractures between 2006 and 2011 were revised. Seventy three ankle fractures that underwent surgical treatment were identified. The parameters analyzed included age, gender, injured side, AO and Gustilo & Anderson classification, associated injuries, exposure, need to urgent treatment, time to definitive treatment and early post-operative complications. Study design: retrospective epidemiological study. RESULTS: Male gender was predominant among subjects and the mean age was 27.5 years old. Thirty nine fractures resulted from traffic accidents and type B fracture according to AO classification was the most common. Twenty one were open fractures and 22 patients had associated injuries. The average time to definitive treatment was 6.5 days. Early post-operative complications were found in 21.3% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Ankle fractures treated in a tertiary hospital of a large city in Brazil affect young people victims of high-energy accidents and present significant rates of associated injuries and post-operative complications. Level of Evidence IV, Cases Series.