Association between geriatric malnutrition and the risk of dementia: a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study in Uganda.

The talus is the key bone that transmits body weight from the leg to the foot, serving as a crucial link between the lower limb and the foot. Talar neck fractures are a rare orthopaedic disorder, accounting for < 1% of all fractures []. Talar avascular necrosis and fracture nonunion following a talar neck fracture have always been difficult problems in clinical treatment due to the special anatomical structure of the talus [–]. Internal fixation options for talar neck fractures include plates, screws, etc. The use of cannulated screw can accelerate fracture healing and most procedures are performed minimally invasively after satisfactory reduction. However, accurate screw placement is the key to the success of minimally invasive surgery, which significantly increases radiation exposure. Robot-assisted technology developed in recent years enables accurate screw insertion and has been successfully applied to the spine [, ], pelvis [], femoral neck [], and scaphoid [], among other anatomical sites, with satisfactory results. We consider whether it can also be applied to talar neck fractures and also have excellent performance based on the application of orthopaedic robots in the above-mentioned parts. However, few studies reported on the use of robots in talar neck fracture treatment, especially the comparative study of intraoperative fluoroscopic dose. Therefore, this study specifically focused on Hawkins type II talar neck fractures, which are the most common type amenable to closed reduction and percutaneous screw fixation, and compared robot-assisted and traditional surgery.This study retrospectively analysed the clinical data of patients with talar neck fractures and compared whether robot-assisted surgery is superior to traditional surgery in terms of fluoroscopic dose and surgical outcomes to clarify the safety and effectiveness of robot-assisted talar neck fracture surgery. This study was performed following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, China (Date 2020.9.30/No.424). All participants provided informed consent. A single experienced surgeon performed all surgeries.