Psychiatric symptoms in patients treated with an Ilizarov external fixator

The Ilizarov technique limits daily activities of patients and may cause psychiatric symptoms. We investigated psychiatric symptoms associated with the use of an Ilizarov circular external fixator (CEF) and the relationship between symptoms and duration of CEF application in adult patients. The study included 40 adult male outpatients (mean age 26.4 years; range 20 to 40 years) who were treated with a CEF. The participants were administered a questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R). Data were compared with those of a control group consisting of 30 healthy males with similar sociodemographic features. Significant differences were found between the patient and control groups with regard to somatization (p=0.03), interpersonal sensitivity (p=0.027), depression (p=0.003), anxiety (p=0.025), hostility (p=0.004), paranoid ideation (p=0.021), additional scale (p=0.000), and overall symptom (p=0.024) scores. There was at least one psychiatric symptom in 52.5% of the subjects treated with a CEF. Hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, sleep disturbances, obsessive-compulsive signs, and anxiety were detected in 37.5%, 35%, 32.5%, 20%, and 20%, respectively. The duration of CEF application was positively correlated with depression and interpersonal sensitivity (p=0.000), and negatively correlated with anxiety (p=0.001). Our data demonstrate that, during treatment with a CEF, psychiatric problems emerge, which warrant careful evaluation of the psychiatric condition of the patients.