Impact of supplemental postoperative radiological imaging following surgical fracture treatment

Introduction
The aim of the study was to examine the clinical impact of additional short-term postoperative radiological imaging during hospital stay following operative fracture treatment.

Material & Methods
This retrospective single-center cohort-study included patients with operatively treated fractures in 2023 at an academic level one trauma center. Each study patient received a postoperative radiological control of the surgical treated fracture during their hospital stay as per in-house protocol in addition to high quality intraoperative imaging. Main outcome measures were the impact of the postoperative imaging on standardized fracture aftertreatment and the rate of operative revisions that were triggered through the critical evaluation of the postoperative x-ray diagnostics.

Results
1122 patients with a median age of 54 years and a median ASA score of 2 were included in this study. Median length of stay was 6 days. The most frequently injured anatomical region was the distal radius (16,3%) and proximal femur (13,5%). Postoperative radiological controls were conducted within a median timeframe of 2 days after the primary operation. These diagnostics triggered an adjustment of standardized fracture aftertreatment in 7 (0,6%) patients and an operative revision in 16 (1,4%) patients.

Conclusions
The clinical impact of short-term postoperative radiological imaging following operative fracture treatment is low. The implementation necessity of these diagnostics in clinical setting should be critically questioned, considering the additional radiation burden and incurred costs for the healthcare system.

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