Return to Work after Surgical Treatment of Osteochondral Defects of the Talus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction Return to work (RTW) is a key goal for patients treated for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT). Aim The primary objective of this review is to determine the RTW after surgical treatment of an OLT. Methods After preregistration, MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase and Cochrane Library were screened by two authors. RTW time and rate were extracted, and pooled if sufficient data was available. Two authors assessed methodological quality using the MINORS criteria. Results A total of 18 studies were included for which 399 patients reported RTW rate and/or time. The overall methodological quality of the studies was poor. The RTW time ranged from 2 to 11 weeks post-operatively and varied across surgical techniques. The overall RTW rate was 93%, with arthroscopic procedures averaging 96%, and open procedures averaging 91% RTW. Conclusion After surgical treatment of OLTs, 93% of patients returned to work. Time to RTW ranged from 2 to 11 weeks, although reporting was heterogeneous and methodological quality was generally low. Future studies should include RTW as a core outcome and report work-related restrictions more consistently.