Clinical trials

Ankle fractures are common, debilitating and usually treated with immobilisation using a foot-ankle brace (walker). Emerging evidence suggests that a less restrictive brace may reduce recovery time without increasing the risk of complications, and patients tend to prefer ankle stirrups. However, evidence supporting their non-inferiority remains limited and inconclusive. Thus, the aim is assess if an ankle stirrup is non-inferior to a standard walker in reducing pain and function measured by the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ) three months after ankle fracture. The hypothesis is that ankel stirrups align better with patients preferenes for less immobilising braces and offer sufficient stability while the fracture heals. Secondarily it may lead to faster recovery of function, return to work and reduced cost. The sample size of a maximum of 1400 patients allow us to assess non-inferiority in age and sex specific subgroups and treatment (surgical or non-sugical). Non-inferiority will be assessed in a pragmatic, multicenter, randomised controlled trial involving Scandinavian orthopedic departments.

Sedentary behaviour among medical inpatients is strongly associated with hospital-associated functional decline and poses a severe threat to patients' functional capacity and independency. High human and socioeconomic costs underline the urgency to find solutions to this world-wide problem. Objective: This multicentre study, including a total of 400 patients from Copenhagen, Aalborg, Tórshavn, and Nuuk, will assess the effect of a digital intervention that aims to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in medical inpatients. Intervention: Digital feedback and nudging regarding the patients' physical activity levels to patients and healthcare staff Design: Stepped-wedge cluster randomised multicentre trial Primary outcome: Daily average time of patients' physical activity (minutes).