Mid‐to long‐term postoperative outcomes of ankle joint fusion in patients with haemophilia: A systematic review

Abstract Introduction and Aim The ankle joint is the most common site for haemophilic arthropathy. The aim of this study was to review the outcomes of ankle joint fusion in patients with haemophilia A or B. The primary outcome measures were union rates, time to union, perioperative blood loss/transfusion, postoperative complications and length of hospital stay (LOS). Secondary outcome measures were hind foot functional outcome scores and the visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Materials and Methods A search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Journals@Ovid and the Cochrane register was performed conforming to the PRISMA guidelines. Only human studies with a minimum follow‐up of 1‐year were included. The MINORS and ROBINS‐1 tools were used for quality appraisal. Results A total of 952 articles were identified and only 17 studies met the eligibility criteria after the screening. The mean age of the patients was 37.6 (SD 10.2). A total of 271 ankle fusions were performed with the open crossed‐screw fixation being the most common technique. Union rates were 71.5%–100% at 2–6 months. The pooled postoperative complication and revision rates were 13.7% and 6.5%, respectively. The range of LOS was 1.8–10.6 days. The mean preoperative American orthopedic foot and ankle society (AOFAS) ankle‐hindfoot score was 35 (SD 13.1) whereas the mean postoperative AOFAS score was 79.4 (SD 5.3). The mean preoperative VAS was 6.3 (SD 1.6) while the mean postoperative VAS score was .9 (SD .4) across 38 ankle fusions. Conclusion Ankle arthrodesis offers improved pain and function in haemophilic ankle arthropathy with lower revision and complication rates than that reported in the literature for total ankle replacement.