2007 OITE Question 211

Question

A large, randomized controlled trial of surgical versus nonsurgical treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures suggested which of the following patient groups would benefit the most from surgery?

1- Young females in nonlabor jobs

2- Females older than age 50 who were nonsmokers

3- Both male and female heavy laborers

4- Young males who were recreational athletes

5- Both male and female patients who fell less than 10 feet

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Answer (click for answer)

Preferred Answer: 1 – Young females in nonlabor jobs.

There was a randomized controlled multicenter study of operative vs nonoperative treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures by Buckley et al. They found that women did better with surgical treatment than men, young patients did better than older patients, those who had light duty jobs did better than heavy laborers, and those who were not on workman’s comp did better than those that were. With this knowledge one can look at the list of answers and deduce that young females in nonlabor jobs would do better than the others listed.

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