Functional outcomes following surgical-site infections after operative fixation of closed ankle fractures

Background: To compare the functional outcomes between patients with and without postoperative surgical-site infection (SSI) after surgical treatment in closed ankle fractures. Methods: Retrospective cohort study with prospective follow-up. Of 1011 treated patients, 959 were eligible for inclusion in a postal survey. Functional outcomes were assessed using three self-reported questionnaires. Results: In total 567 patients responded a median of 4.3 years (range 3.1-6.2 years) after surgery. In total 29/ 567 had an SSI. The mean Olerud and Molander Ankle Score was 19.8 points lower for patients with a deep SSI (p = 0.02), the Lower Extremity Functional Scale score was 10.2 points lower (p < 0.01) and the Self-Reported Foot & Ankle Questionnaire score was 5.0 points higher (p = 0.10) than for those without an SSI, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, diabetes, physical status, fracture classification and duration of surgery. Conclusions: Patients with a deep SSI had worse long-term functional outcomes than those without an SSI. (C) 2016 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.