383 Assessing Knee Pain Following Intramedullary Nailing for Tibial Shaft Fractures: Retrospective Analysis of Patient Outcomes at Single High Volume Major Trauma Centre

Aim The primary objective of this study is to use proven patient reported outcome measurement (PROM) tools to compare knee pain and function between the two approaches. Method This single centre retrospective study identified all patients who underwent IM nailing of the tibia between January 2020 – February 2023 in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow. The patient cohort was divided into those who received an SPN versus an IPN. The outcomes were assessed using the Oxford Knee Score and Kujala scores. Results After applying exclusion criteria, our study comprised 93 patients, from whom we obtained 50 responses (23 IPN vs 27 SPN) and the mean patient age was 47. No statistically significant disparities in patient demographics were observed between the 2 groups. The mean Oxford Knee score in the SPN group was 34.5 compared to 38.3 the IPN group. The mean Kujala score was 67.6 in the SPN group versus 73.3 in the IPN group. Using a two-tailed student’s T test we concluded that the pain scores from both Oxford knee score and Kujala Knee were not significantly different between the SPN and IPN group. Conclusions Based on our analysis the outcomes in anterior knee pain between the IPN and SPN group are comparable. It is recommended to continue using suprapatellar tibial nailing technique for treating tibial shaft fractures at our institution. A larger scale powered study is required assess its superiority over the IPN procedure for anterior knee pain.