Diabetes is a Potential Predictor of Failure following Total Ankle Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Category: Ankle Arthritis; Other Introduction/Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate potential predictors of failure following total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) for the management of end stage ankle arthritis. Methods: During January 2023, the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library databases were systematically reviewed to evaluate potential predictors of failure following total ankle arthroplasty for the management of end stage ankle arthritis. Data regarding surgical characteristics, subjective clinical outcomes, radiographic outcomes, odds ratios, hazard ratios, correlation coefficients, failure rates and complications were extracted and analysed. Results: In total, 15117 patients (15198 ankles) underwent TAA at a weighted mean follow-up of 64.0 ± 21.8 months. Pooled Odds ratio found that diabetes was a statistically significant predictor of failures following TAA (OR: 2.1; [1.9861, 2.2284], p = 0.003). Other variables such as age, gender, body mass index, implant type and arthritis aetiology were not associated with failure. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis found that the presence of diabetes mellitus was a statistically significant predictor of failure following TAA. However, there was marked heterogeneity between the included studies with regards to statistical data collection which significantly limits the robustness of the conclusions of this study. Thus, further higher quality research with more consistent data collection is warranted to identify potential predictors of failure post TAA