Cotton Michael O, Sliepka Joseph M, Klavas Derek M, McCulloch Patrick C, Harris Joshua D, Jack Robert A
Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Sep 7;9(9):23259671211027862. doi: 10.1177/23259671211027862. eCollection 2021 Sep.
Open fractures are debilitating injuries for athletes. No prior studies have investigated open fractures in National Football League (NFL) players.
To compare outcomes after open fracture in NFL players in terms of (1) time to return to sport (RTS), (2) postinjury career length and games played per season, (3) postinjury performance, and (4) postinjury performance compared with matched controls.
Retrospective comparative series; Level of evidence, 3.
Publicly available records were used to identify NFL players who had sustained an open fracture between 1970 and 2018. Controls were matched to injured players by age, experience, position, and preinjury performance. RTS was defined as playing in at least 1 NFL game after open fracture. Comparisons between injured and control players were made using the paired-samples Student test.
Injuries in 37 players were analyzed (age, 27.2 ± 3.6 years; experience, 4.4 ± 3.6 seasons). The 3 most common locations for open fracture were the tibia/fibula (n = 16), hand/finger (n = 12), and forearm/wrist (n = 3). A total of 30 (81%) players had a mean time of RTS of 9.3 ± 8.2 months after open fracture; of these players, 4 (13.3%) who sustained hand/finger open fracture did not undergo surgical treatment. There was no difference in postinjury career length or games played per season between control and injured players. Postinjury performance was similar to preinjury performance in injured players, and postinjury performance scores were similar between injured and control players. There were significant differences between players who sustained upper extremity and lower extremity open fractures in RTS time (4.0 ± 4.8 vs 14.6 ± 7.4 months, respectively; = .00007) and postinjury performance (6.4 ± 4.3 vs 3.3 ± 2.1, respectively; = .03).
RTS after open fracture among NFL players was high. Players who sustained an open fracture had similar games played per season, career length, and performance compared with matched controls. Players who sustained an upper extremity open fracture had a faster RTS time, higher RTS rate, and improved postinjury performance compared with players who sustained a lower extremity open fracture.
开放性骨折对运动员来说是致残性损伤。此前尚无研究调查过美国国家橄榄球联盟（NFL）球员的开放性骨折情况。
比较NFL球员开放性骨折后的预后，包括（1）恢复运动（RTS）时间，（2）伤后职业生涯长度和每个赛季参赛场次，（3）伤后表现，以及（4）与匹配对照组相比的伤后表现。
回顾性比较系列研究；证据等级为3级。
利用公开记录来确定1970年至2018年间发生开放性骨折的NFL球员。对照组根据年龄、经验、位置和伤前表现与受伤球员进行匹配。RTS定义为开放性骨折后至少参加1场NFL比赛。受伤球员与对照球员之间的比较采用配对样本t检验。
分析了37名球员的损伤情况（年龄27.2±3.6岁；经验4.4±3.6个赛季）。开放性骨折最常见的3个部位是胫腓骨（n = 16）、手/手指（n = 12）和前臂/腕部（n = 3）。共有30名（81%）球员开放性骨折后RTS平均时间为9.3±8.2个月；在这些球员中，4名（13.3%）手部/手指开放性骨折的球员未接受手术治疗。对照球员与受伤球员在伤后职业生涯长度或每个赛季参赛场次方面没有差异。受伤球员伤后表现与伤前表现相似，受伤球员与对照球员的伤后表现评分相似。上肢和下肢开放性骨折的球员在RTS时间（分别为4.0±4.8个月和14.6±7.4个月；P = .00007）和伤后表现（分别为6.4±4.3和3.3±2.1；P = .03）方面存在显著差异。
NFL球员开放性骨折后的RTS率较高。与匹配对照组相比，发生开放性骨折的球员每个赛季参赛场次、职业生涯长度和表现相似。与下肢开放性骨折的球员相比，上肢开放性骨折的球员RTS时间更快、RTS率更高且伤后表现更好。
