Epidemiological characterization of tibial plateau fractures

BACKGROUND: Tibial plateau fractures are traumatic injuries with severities ranging from nondisplaced to complicated fractures. This study describes the epidemiological characteristics of patients with tibial plateau fractures treated in five trauma clinics. METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study included 1165 patients with tibial plateau fractures treated between December 2015 and May 2017. Subjects were selected from the medical records of five institutions based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Age, sex, laterality, fracture type, trauma mechanism, vehicle type, classification, and associated injuries were assessed via univariate and bivariate analyses. RESULTS: In total, 23.3% of patients with tibial fractures treated during the study period had tibial plateau fractures. Of those affected, 73% were men and 50% were younger than 40 years. Furthermore, 95.7% of fractures were caused by traffic accidents, 82.6% of which involved motorcycles. Fractures were closed in 93.1% of cases, and 78% of subjects had associated injuries. The most common fractures, according to Schatzker classification, were type VI (23%) and V (19.1%) fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Tibial plateau fractures are frequent injuries in our setting and mostly occur in men in their 30 s and 40 s. These fractures are typically caused by motorcycle traffic accidents. Level of Evidence. IV.