Every year, many people break their legs. In around 12% of cases, the shin (also called the tibia) fractures into several pieces, requiring a difficult operation. There are two main ways to treat this fracture, either putting a metal rod in the bone or a metal frame outside the leg to help it heal. We do not know which operation is better as previous research looking at these treatments has not been done well and has not provided any definite answers.
We are planning a study across the NHS to compare treatment with a metal rod to a frame to see which is better. Before we do a large study like this we need to consider how if it will work in practice and how best to run it. We need to know if patients and surgeons would be willing to take part, how they feel about the two different operations and how we should measure “success” after the operation. This is called a feasibility study and will tell us if a larger study is possible and how it should be run to give us an answer.
Thank you to all those who are contributing to the success of this trial. Our current recruitment stats are:
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STIFF-F is funded by the NIHR RfPB. Find out more about this funding: Click here
STIFF-F has been given ethical approval by South Central Berkshire Research Ethics Committee. Find out more about this process: Click here
STIFF-F is supported by the Surgical Intervention Trials Unit. SITU is a multidisciplinary team who provide training and support for the development of surgical trials and future trialists. We draw upon the considerable methodological and practical trials expertise in Oxford including six accredited trial units, statistical, ethical, health economic, systematic review, clinical network resources and the IDEAL collaboration.
