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Article summary:
1. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate which method is more appropriate for the treatment of acute acromioclavicular (AC) joint dislocation: the tight-rope (TR) technique or clavicular hook plate (CHP).
2. The results indicated that TR was preferential to CHP for AC joint dislocation given its higher Constant-Murley score, lower Visual Analog Scale pain score, and comparable reduction loss rate and coracoclavicular (CC) distance.
3. The TR technique appears to be associated with better functional recovery and less pain than CHP, without increasing the risk of reduction loss, CC distance, or operation time.
Article analysis:
The article is a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective controlled trials that compared functional scores, pain scores, reduction loss rates, CC distances, and complications between TR and CHP for acute AC joint dislocation. The authors conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases from inception to January 2018 using the search term "acromioclavicular joint dislocation AND hook plate." A total of 13 studies with 732 patients were included in the analysis.
The article is generally reliable as it provides an objective overview of the available evidence on this topic. It presents both sides equally by providing a comparison between TR and CHP techniques for treating acute AC joint dislocations. Furthermore, it includes subgroup analyses of the surgical type of TR which did not affect the outcome.
However, there are some potential biases in the article that should be noted. For example, there may be publication bias due to only including studies published in English language journals; this could lead to an overestimation of certain outcomes as studies with positive results are more likely to be published than those with negative results. Additionally, there may be selection bias due to only including studies that met certain criteria such as being prospective or retrospective controlled trials; this could lead to an overestimation or underestimation of certain outcomes depending on what criteria were used for inclusion/exclusion in the analysis. Finally, there may also be confounding factors that were not taken into account such as patient age or comorbidities which could have affected the results; these should have been considered when interpreting the findings from this study.
Topics for further research:
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation treatment outcomes
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation complications
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation hook plate
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation functional scores
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation pain scores
Acromioclavicular joint dislocation reduction loss rates