Summary
The objective of this review and analysis was to compare arthroscopy, medial arthrotomy
and medical management for treating fragmented coronoid process in the dog. The data
come from manuscripts published in peer-reviewed veterinary journals, and the study
design is a systematic review followed by meta-analysis. The meta-analysis combines
data from a set of studies so that surgical techniques and medial management can be
compared in a single analysis. Several literature databases and veterinary texts were
thoroughly searched to provide a list of over 400 candidate manuscripts. Inclusion
criteria were used to filter the candidate manuscripts to a final set of fourmanuscripts
that directly pertained to the clinical question. They were scored for their evidentiary
value using a semi-objective measure. The results were that arthroscopy was superior
to medial arthrotomy and medical management, but medial arthrotomy was not superior
to medical management. Only one manuscript was a randomized controlled trial, hence
the results must be tempered by the evidentiary value of the data.
Keywords
FMCP - systematic review - arthroscopy - medial arthrotomy - meta-analysis