Efficacy and safety of tension band wire versus plate for Mayo II olecranon fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE: For olecranon fractures, the choice of tension band wire (TBW) or plate fixation has long been controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TBW and plate in the treatment of patients with Mayo II olecranon fractures by Meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, the Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and China Biomedical Database were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies (CSs) where TBW was compared with plate for Mayo II olecranon fractures (OF). Subsequently, the data were extracted by two reviewers independently and were analysed via RevMan5.4.1. Besides, mean difference (MD), risk ratio (RR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Furthermore, Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0 and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale were adopted for assessing the risk of bias. RESULTS: A total of 1RCT and 10 CSs were included, when 449 cases were treated with TBW and 378 with plate. The plate has favourable postoperative long-term (≥ 1 year) functional score in MEPS (MD: − 3.06; 95% CI − 5.50 to 0.62; P = 0.01; I(2) = 41%) and Dash score (MD: 2.32; 95% CI 1.91, 2.73; P < 0.00001; I(2) = 0%), also carrying fewer complications (RR: 2.13; 95% CI 1.48, 3.08; P < 0.0001; I(2) = 58%). Besides, there exists no significant difference in postoperative long-term (≥ 1 year) elbow flexion (MD: − 1.82°; 95% CI − 8.54, 4.90; P = 0.60; I(2) = 71%) and extension deficits (MD: 1.52°; 95% CI − 0.38, 3.42; P = 0.12; I(2) = 92%). Moreover, TBW is featured with a shorter operation time (MD = − 5.87 min; 95% CI − 7.93, − 3.82; P < 0.00001; I(2) = 0) and less intraoperative bleeding (MD: − 5.33 ml; 95% CI − 8.15, − 2.52; P = 0.0002; I(2) = 0). In terms of fracture healing time, it is still controversial. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis has revealed that for Mayo IIA OF, the plate has a better outcome in the long-term (≥ 1 year) postoperative MEPS, the Dash score, and the incidence of postoperative complications than TBW, while there is no significant difference in the long-term (≥ 1 year) postoperative elbow motion between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Plate has better efficacy and safety for Mayo II OF. Considering that few studies are included in the meta-analysis, more high-quality RCTs are still required to confirm these findings. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022313855. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-022-03262-7.