Incidence and missed diagnosis risk of occult posterior malleolar fractures associated with the tibial shaft fractures: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Tibial shaft fractures (TSFs) combined with occult posterior malleolar fractures (PMFs) are becoming widely recognized in the field of orthopedics. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical incidence, missed diagnosis rate, and treatment strategies of this combined injury. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane, and MEDLINE Ovid databases were searched for articles of English language from 1988 to 2020, identifying 1549 papers. RESULTS: Twenty-one of the 1278 identified studies were eligible for inclusion. Each study reported on the incidence of this combined injury, and 12 studies documented the missed diagnosis rate. Seventeen studies reported surgical intervention strategies for PMFs. In the present review, PMFs frequently occurred in spiral TSFs (70%), especially distal third spiral TSFs (70.4%), based on CT scans or additional MRI. Based on the original X-ray detection, approximately 50% of PMFs were missed in patients with a combined injury. In addition, the treatment strategies for PMFs were inconsistent. Most studies (11/17) believe that specific surgical management needs to be developed based on the fragment size, displacement, and stability of the PMF. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with TSFs, spiral TSFs, especially distal third spiral TSFs, are closely related to PMFs and are often not sufficiently diagnosed by X-ray alone. Advanced CT and MRI examinations can significantly reduce the missed diagnosis rate of occult PMFs. According to available literature, the treatment strategy for PMFs associated with TSFs is questionable without convincing evidence of benefit. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-021-02502-6.