Clinical Validation of the C-Arm Rotational View (CARV) to Avoid Rotational Malalignment After Intramedullary Nailing of Tibial Shaft Fractures.

Overview

Tibia shaft fractures are common long bone fractures in the field of Orthopaedic Trauma. In the USA, a total of 492.000 tibial fractures were reported per year by the National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS). Intramedullary nailing (IMN) is the treatment of choice for shaft fractures. However, rotational malalignment (RM) remains an iatrogenic pitfall with a prevalence up to 30%. From a clinical point of view, there is limited knowledge on how to avoid RM during IMN. Clinical estimation of tibial alignment is difficult, resulting frequently in RM following IMN. Low-dose CT-assessment is considered the gold standard to objectify RM, but is performed after surgery when the opportunity for direct revision has passed. Both difficulties in intraoperative clinical judgement of tibial alignment as well as postoperative detection of RM when the possibility for direct revision has passed, do support the need for an easy-to-use intraoperative fluoroscopy protocol to minimize the risk for RM during IMN of tibial shaft fractures. Recently, a standardized intraoperative fluoroscopy protocol named the 'C-Arm Rotational View (CARV)' was determined in order to improve the accuracy of alignment control during IMN of tibial shaft fractures. CARV includes predefined fluoroscopy landmarks of the uninjured side to correct for rotational malalignment of the injured side in which the rotation of the C-Arm Image Intensifier is used. Promising preliminary results were found to reduce the risk on RM following IMN of tibia fractures. However, a prospective trial is needed to determine the performance of CARV in clinical practice. Therefore, a prospective multi-center randomized controlled trial is designed to assess the clinical feasibility and potential benefits of the CARV-protocol. The following primary research question was defined: can the risk for RM following IMN of tibial shaft fractures be minimized by use of the CARV-protocol?