Aim: To ascertain and describe the number and epidemiology of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) focused on orthopaedic fractures.
Methods: A sensitive literature search was carried out for the period 1966-May 1999. Labels were applied to each identified RCT to indicate the fracture type, and the main type of intervention.
Results: 648 RCTs related to surgery of which 123 focused on adjuvant therapies and 88 related mainly to anaesthesia, analgesia, and radiography. The number of trials have increased exponentially with time so that the present decade has seen more RCTs published than all the other years added together.
Conclusion: There is clearly an encouraging trend in the number of RCTs published. However there is a need to ensure that trials are on fracture types where there is most need for guidance. This growing evidence base should fuel systematic reviews and clinical guidelines within orthopaedics.