RESEARCH ARTICLE
Patient-Based Outcomes After Tibia Fracture in Children and Adolescents
Coleen S Sabatini 1, Tracy A Curtis 2, Susan T Mahan*, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2014Volume: 8
First Page: 41
Last Page: 48
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-8-41
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001408010041
Article History:
Received Date: 23/9/2013Revision Received Date: 11/2/2014
Acceptance Date: 11/2/2014
Electronic publication date: 21/2/2014
Collection year: 2014

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Introduction :
Tibia fractures are common in pediatric patients and time necessary to return to normal function may be underappreciated. The purpose of this study was to assess functional recovery in pediatric patients who sustain tibia fractures, utilizing the Pediatrics Outcome Data Collection Instrument (PODCI), in order to provide evidence-based information on post-injury functional limitations and anticipated recovery times.
Methods :
84patients (out of 264 eligible patients, response rate 32%) age 1.5-18 years treated for a tibia fracture at a large children's hospital between 1/07 and 4/08 completed a PODCI questionnaire at 6 and 12 months post-injury. PODCI questionnaires were compared to previously reportednormal controls using Student's t-test in six categories.
Results :
At 6 months after injury, the Sports functioning PODCI score was significantly less than healthy controls in both the parent reports for adolescent (mean 88.71 versus 95.4) and adolescent self-report (mean 90.44 versus 97.1); these showed no difference at 12 months.
Discussion :
For adolescents who sustain fractures of the tibia, there remains a negative impact on their sports functioning after 6 months that resolves by 12 months. Physicians can counsel their patients that although they may be limited in their sports function for some time after injury, it is anticipated that this will resolve by one year from the time of injury.
Level of Evidence :
Level II.