Comparing external fixators and intramedullary nailing for treating open tibia fractures: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

External fixators (EFs) and intramedullary nailing (IMN) are two effective methods for open tibial fractures. However, both methods have advantages and disadvantages, and the optimal surgical approach remains controversial. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare EF with IMN to evaluate their efficacy and safety. A systematic study of the literature was conducted in relevant studies published in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang and Weipu from database inception to April 2022. All eligible literature was critically appraised for methodological quality via the Cochrane's collaboration tool. The primary outcome measurements included postoperative superficial infection, postoperative deep infection, union time, delayed union, malunion, nonunion, and hardware failure. Nine RCTs involving 733 cases were included in the current meta-analysis. The pooled results suggested that cases in the IMN group had a significantly lower postoperative superficial infection rate [risk ratio (RR) = 2.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.83 to 4.39; P