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Pelvis RCT: Impact of Surgery on Pain in Lateral Compression Type Pelvic Fractures

Impact of Surgery on Pain in Lateral Compression Type Pelvic Fractures: a Prospective Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02625766
Enrollment
95
Registered
2015-12-09
Start date
2015-04-20
Completion date
2020-12-31
Last updated
2022-05-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

LC Pelvic Fracture

Keywords

Operative vs. Non-operative, LC pelvic fracture, Complications

Brief summary

Lateral compression type pelvic ring injuries remain the most common type of pelvic fractures encountered. There is a substantial amount of controversy surrounding the treatment of these injuries and there is evidence that both operative and non-operative treatment can be successful.

Detailed description

The crux of the problem is determining which of these patients would benefit from early surgical stabilization and which will heal uneventfully without surgery. Many authors site patient pain and inability to mobilize as indications for surgery, although there is conflicting evidence supporting this claim. The presence of chronic pain in the trauma population is a growing area of interest, and there is a push towards controlling pain more effectively in the acute setting. It remains to be proven that surgical intervention is more effective at decreasing acute and longer term pain. There is evidence in the literature to support both operative and non-operative treatment of patients with LC1 or LC2 pelvic fractures. There is conflicting evidence that surgical stabilization decreases acute pain and narcotic requirements, although patients are often counseled to that effect. The investigators propose to prospectively randomize patients with lateral compression type pelvic fractures to non-operative versus operative treatment and track which group has less pain, less need for narcotic pain medications, and who mobilizes with physical therapy faster.

Interventions

PROCEDURELC fracture surgical fixation
PROCEDURELC fracture non-operative management

Sponsors

Indiana University Health
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* The patient has one of the following pelvic fractures (includes bilateral sacral fractures): Lateral compression type 1, Lateral compression type 2, Lateral compression type 3 * The patient is between 18 and 80 years of age, inclusive * The patient has reached skeletal maturity * The patient's pelvic fracture is a result of trauma (includes polytraumatized patients) * The patient/family/guardian is English-speaking * The patient's surgeon agrees to randomization (the patient is amendable to either operative or non-operative treatment) * Patient enrollment and, if applicable, patient randomization can occur within 96 hours post injury

Exclusion criteria

* The patient has prior surgical hardware in place that precludes intervention * The patient's pelvic fracture is classified as a Lateral compression type 1 and the associated sacral fracture is incomplete as indicated by failure to violate both the anterior and posterior cortex * The patient received prior surgical intervention for his/her current pelvic injury * The patient has sacral morphology that precludes percutaneous fixation * The patient is non-ambulatory due to an associated spinal cord injury * The patient was non-ambulatory pre-injury * The patient is currently pregnant * The patient is enrolled in another research study that does not allow co-enrollment * The patient is likely to have severe problems with maintaining follow-up

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Posttreatment Painup to 12 weeks post injuryThe primary outcome was patient-reported pain severity, as measured by the mean of the 4 pain severity items of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): worst pain in the last 24 hours, least pain in the last 24 hours, pain on average, and pain right now. The BPI uses a 0-10 level visual analog scale (VAS) with a 24-hour recall period, where 0 anchors no pain and 10 anchors pain as bad as you can imagine. The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is not definitively established for the BPI in a trauma population; however, the MCID for other 10-point VAS pain scales has been reported between 1.0-2.5 points.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Posttreatment Functionup to 12 weeks post injurySecondary functional outcome was measured by the Majeed pelvic score. The Majeed pelvic score is a seven-item patient-reported outcome instrument that measures pain, work status, sitting comfort, sexual intercourse, use of walking aids, gait disturbance, and walking distance. The score is reported as a percentage of the highest possible score to adjust for participants who were not employed before their injury. Higher scores represent better function, and a score of \>85% has been suggested to represent excellent function.
Length of Hospitalizationthrough patient discharge, up to 12 weeks post injuryLength of hospitalization is determined by recording the admission date versus discharge date for the patient's index hospitalization stay.
Time to First Mobilization Post Injurythrough patient discharge, up to 12 weeks post injuryTime to first mobilization (bed to chair) is determined using the physical therapy notes during the patient's index hospitalization and is recorded as the number of days post injury that mobilization first occurred.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Operative
Patients enrolled in the operative treatment group will undergo surgical intervention for their pelvic fracture. The surgeon will decide the best surgical technique as per standard of care for the patient's injury. The patient will mobilize as per the surgeon's instructions and x-rays will be taken at follow-up clinic appointments to determine if the injury is healing properly. If additional surgery is required or other complications arise, this will be recorded within the study follow-up forms. LC fracture surgical fixation
47
Non-operative
Patients enrolled in the non-operative treatment group will not undergo surgical intervention for their pelvic fracture. They will mobilize as per the surgeon's instructions according to standard of care of for this injury. X-rays will be taken at follow-up clinic appointments to determine if the injury is healing properly or if the pelvis has shifted and may warrant surgical intervention. If complications arise and/or surgery is required, crossover will be allowed and recorded within study follow-up forms. LC fracture non-operative management
48
Total95

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicNon-operativeTotalOperative
Age, Continuous43.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 17.9
43.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 18.3
43.6 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 18.9
BMI
Normal (18.5-24.9 kg/m^2)
29 Participants52 Participants23 Participants
BMI
Obese (>30 kg/m^2)
8 Participants15 Participants7 Participants
BMI
Overweight (25-29.9 kg/m^2)
11 Participants26 Participants15 Participants
BMI
Underweight (< 18.5 kg/m^2)
0 Participants2 Participants2 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
48 Participants94 Participants46 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Fracture Type
Lateral Compression Type 1
36 Participants67 Participants31 Participants
Fracture Type
Lateral Compression Type 2
12 Participants28 Participants16 Participants
History of Comorbidities
Comorbidities
36 Participants74 Participants38 Participants
History of Comorbidities
No Comorbidities
12 Participants21 Participants9 Participants
Initial Fracture Displacement
5-10 mm (displaced)
15 Participants26 Participants11 Participants
Initial Fracture Displacement
<5 mm (no/minimal displacement)
33 Participants69 Participants36 Participants
Injury Severity Score (ISS)18 scores on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 10
17 scores on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9
17 scores on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9
Mechanism of Injury
Fall
9 Participants19 Participants10 Participants
Mechanism of Injury
Motor Vehicle
38 Participants74 Participants36 Participants
Mechanism of Injury
Other
1 Participants2 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants2 Participants2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
3 Participants4 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
6 Participants12 Participants6 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
39 Participants77 Participants38 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
32 Participants60 Participants28 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
16 Participants35 Participants19 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 470 / 48
other
Total, other adverse events
3 / 474 / 48
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 470 / 48

Outcome results

Primary

Posttreatment Pain

The primary outcome was patient-reported pain severity, as measured by the mean of the 4 pain severity items of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): worst pain in the last 24 hours, least pain in the last 24 hours, pain on average, and pain right now. The BPI uses a 0-10 level visual analog scale (VAS) with a 24-hour recall period, where 0 anchors no pain and 10 anchors pain as bad as you can imagine. The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is not definitively established for the BPI in a trauma population; however, the MCID for other 10-point VAS pain scales has been reported between 1.0-2.5 points.

Time frame: up to 12 weeks post injury

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
OperativePosttreatment Pain96 hr5.3 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.8
OperativePosttreatment Pain2 wk4.2 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2
OperativePosttreatment Pain6 wk2.7 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2.6
OperativePosttreatment Pain12 wk1.9 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2
Non-operativePosttreatment Pain12 wk2.9 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2.7
Non-operativePosttreatment Pain96 hr6.2 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2.4
Non-operativePosttreatment Pain6 wk3.5 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 3.1
Non-operativePosttreatment Pain2 wk5.6 scores on a scaleStandard Deviation 2.3
Secondary

Length of Hospitalization

Length of hospitalization is determined by recording the admission date versus discharge date for the patient's index hospitalization stay.

Time frame: through patient discharge, up to 12 weeks post injury

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)
OperativeLength of Hospitalization6.9 days
Non-operativeLength of Hospitalization6.6 days
Secondary

Posttreatment Function

Secondary functional outcome was measured by the Majeed pelvic score. The Majeed pelvic score is a seven-item patient-reported outcome instrument that measures pain, work status, sitting comfort, sexual intercourse, use of walking aids, gait disturbance, and walking distance. The score is reported as a percentage of the highest possible score to adjust for participants who were not employed before their injury. Higher scores represent better function, and a score of \>85% has been suggested to represent excellent function.

Time frame: up to 12 weeks post injury

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
OperativePosttreatment Function2 wk38 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 11
OperativePosttreatment Function6 wk55 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 18
OperativePosttreatment Function12 wk73 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 20
Non-operativePosttreatment Function2 wk31 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 10
Non-operativePosttreatment Function6 wk50 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 18
Non-operativePosttreatment Function12 wk62 percentage of score on a scaleStandard Deviation 22
Secondary

Time to First Mobilization Post Injury

Time to first mobilization (bed to chair) is determined using the physical therapy notes during the patient's index hospitalization and is recorded as the number of days post injury that mobilization first occurred.

Time frame: through patient discharge, up to 12 weeks post injury

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
OperativeTime to First Mobilization Post Injury3 days
Non-operativeTime to First Mobilization Post Injury3 days

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026