• Jason O'Brien, Richard Buckley, Robert McCormack, Graham Pate, Ross Leighton, Dave Petrie, and Robert Galpin.
• AC144A, 1403-29th Street NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 2T9.
• Foot Ankle Int. 2004 Sep 1; 25 (9): 657-65.

BackgroundPatients' satisfaction with gait after calcaneal fracture has rarely been studied. The objective of this paper was to determine how patient demographics, fracture type and treatment affected gait satisfaction after displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures. The design of the study is a prospective randomized trial performed in four Level I trauma centers.MethodsThree hundred and nineteen patients with 351 radiographically proven displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures (DIACF) were randomly assigned to open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), or nonoperative treatment. A 2- to 8-year follow-up was obtained, with patients completing SF-36 and a validated visual analogue scale to assess personal gait satisfaction. The final joint positions were confirmed using plain radiographs and CT scans for both treatment arms. Examination using a one-way analysis-of-variance was performed to determine if statistical differences existed in personal gait satisfaction between the treatment arms.ResultsPersonal gait satisfaction scores were not significantly different between those DIACF treated with ORIF and those treated nonoperatively at 2- to 8-year follow-up. In patients treated with ORIF, improved personal gait scores were reported in those who were younger than 30 years of age, were non-WCB, had jobs requiring a moderate work-load before injury, and had Bohler angles restored to above 0 degrees. Factors not found to be significant in gait satisfaction included unilateral or bilateral calcaneal fractures, quality of initial reduction, and sex of the patient.ConclusionsSubcategories determined that younger patients who were self-employed and treated operatively had improved gait scores. Treatment (operative or nonoperative) of calcaneal fractures did not affect gait satisfaction according to patient outcome scores.

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