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Late Outcome After Severe Fractures

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The Poly-Traumatized Patient with Fractures

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Abstract

Due to improvements in the treatment of polytrauma patients, long-term outcome evaluation and assessment of quality of life and patient satisfaction have gained attention in current polytrauma care. Large long-term studies have been recently completed in order to evaluate the outcome of severely injured patients and define the factors influencing long-term results. These investigations reveal that in addition to injury-related factors, characteristics of the individual and the socioeconomic environment have a strong impact on the functional outcome. The role of posttraumatic depression and stress disorder have been especially emphasized by the authors. Moreover, lower-extremity injuries are associated with significant long-term impairments and loss of function. However, upper extremities with concomitant injuries (vascular and neurological injuries) are also shown to be a major determinant of poor outcome. Patients who have sustained pelvic fractures frequently report chronic pain and neurologic sequelae. In conclusion, long-term studies could demonstrate that functional disabilities and chronic pain are common in polytrauma patients, especially in those with concomitant injuries. Several strategies have been suggested to address this issue. Whether these strategies improve the long-term outcome has to be evaluated in further investigations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Aachen University Medical Center, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    Roman Pfeifer & Hans-Christoph Pape

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  1. Roman Pfeifer
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  2. Hans-Christoph Pape
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Correspondence to Roman Pfeifer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Unfallchirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52057, Germany

    Hans-Christoph Pape

  2. Florida Orthopaedic Institute, N. Telecom Parkway 13020, Temple Terrace, 33637, Florida, USA

    Roy Sanders

  3. Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, University of Texas, Harry Hines Blvd. 5323, Dallas, 75390, Texas, USA

    Joseph Borrelli, Jr.

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Pfeifer, R., Pape, HC. (2011). Late Outcome After Severe Fractures. In: Pape, HC., Sanders, R., Borrelli, Jr., J. (eds) The Poly-Traumatized Patient with Fractures. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17986-0_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17986-0_29

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