Comparison of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis and conventional plate osteosynthesis for humeral shaft fracture: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) and conventional plate osteosynthesis (CPO) for humeral shaft fracture.

METHODS: Potential academic articles were identified from the Cochrane Library, Medline (1966-2016.3), PubMed (1966-2016.3), Embase (1980-2016.3), and ScienceDirect (1966-2016.3). Gray studies were identified from the references of the included literature. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCT involving MIPO and CPO for humeral shaft fracture were included. Two independent reviewers performed independent data abstraction. I statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. Fixed or random effects model was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS: Two RCTs and 3 non-RCTs met the inclusion criteria. There was a lower incidence of iatrogenic radial nerve palsy in patients with MIPO (P = 0.006). There was no statistically significant difference in in the risk of developing nonunion, delay union, malformation, screw loosening, infection, operation time, UCLA, and MEPS function score between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSION: MIPO decreased incidence of iatrogenic radial nerve palsy and is an efficacy and safety technique for humeral shaft fracture. Due to the limited quality and data of the evidence currently available, more high-quality RCTs are required.