Return to sport following navicular stress fracture: a systematic review and meta-analysis of three hundred and fifteen fractures.

This meta-analysis aims to provide updated evidence on the success rate, return to play (RTP) rate, time to RTP, and complications of operatively and conservatively managed navicular stress fractures (NSFs) as well as delays in diagnosis while avoiding limitations of previous similar studies. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, two independent team members electronically searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, and Cochrane databases throughout February 2021 using the following keywords with their synonyms: "Navicular stress fracture," "return to play," and "athletes." The primary outcomes were (1) management success rate, (2) RTP rate, and (3) time to RTP. The secondary outcomes were (1) non-union, (2) time to diagnosis, (3) refracture, and (4) other complications. Inclusion criteria were clinical studies on NSFs reporting at least one of the desirable outcomes. Studies not reporting any of the outcomes of interest or the full text was not available in English, German, French, or Arabic were excluded. Case reports, case series with less than ten cases, and studies reporting exclusively on navicular non-union management were also excluded. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for quality assessment while Review Manager (RevMan) Version 5.4 was used for the risk of bias assessment. Data were presented by type of treatment (surgical or conservative). If enough studies were present that were clinically and statistically homogeneous and data on them adequately reported, a meta-analysis was performed using a fixed-effects model. In case of statistical heterogeneity, a random-effects model was used. If meta-analysis was not possible, results were reported in a descriptive fashion. The need to explore for statistical heterogeneity was determined by an I Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 315 NSF. Out of those, 307 (97.46%) NSFs were in athletes. One hundred eight (34.29%) NSFs were managed operatively, while 207 (65.71%) NSFs were managed conservatively. Successful outcomes were reported in 104/108 (96.30%) NSF treated operatively with a mean success rate of 97.9% (CI: 95.4-100%, I Operative management of NSF provides a higher success rate, a lower refracture rate, and a lower non-union rate as compared to other non-operative management options. While not significant, there is a notable trend towards superior RTP rates and time to RTP following operative management. Therefore, we recommend operative fixation for all NSFs type I through III in athletes. Athletes continue to exhibit an alarmingly long duration of symptoms before diagnosis is made; a high index of suspicion must be maintained, therefore, and adjunct CT imaging is strongly recommended in the case of any work-up. Unfortunately, the published literature on NSFs remains of lower level of evidence and high-quality studies are needed.

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