Evaluation of Prognostic Factors in Surgically Treated Patients with Bi-malleolar Ankle Fractures

Background: Various studies in the field of bimalleolar ankle fractures resulted in different findings. However, no reported study is available in Iran. Methods: The study population included 43 patients with bimalleolar ankle fractures who referred to hospitals associated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and underwent surgery during 2009. Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) was used to collect data 6 months after the surgery. Mean scores were evaluated considering different factors such as age, sex, having diabetes, smoking and anatomic reduction. Findings: A significant difference was found in FAOS scores between men and women (P = 0.001) and between those with and without anatomic reduction (P < 0.001). However, the scores were not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers (P = 0.39). In addition, diabetic and non-diabetic patients were significantly different in terms of FAOS scores (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Factors such as sex, inappropriate reduction and having diabetes can affect the healing process and quality of life among patients with bimalleolar ankle fractures.