Aims. To determine whether the findings from a landmark Canadian trial assessing the optimal management of acute rupture of the Achilles tendon influenced the practice patterns of orthopaedic surgeons in Ontario, Canada. Materials and Methods. Health administrative databases were used to identify Ontario residents ≥ 18 years of age with an Achilles tendon rupture from April 2002 to March 2014. The rate of surgical repair (per 100 cases) was calculated for each calendar quarter. A time-series analysis was used to determine whether changes in the rate were chronologically related to the dissemination of results from a landmark trial published in February 2009. Non-linear spline regression was then used independently to identify critical time-points of change in the surgical repair rate to confirm the findings. Results. A total of 29 531 patients sustained an Achilles tendon rupture during the study period. Consistently, around 21 out of every 100 cases underwent surgical repair up to the first quarter of 2010. However, by the first quarter of 2014, only 6.5 cases per 100 had surgery. A statistically significant decrease in the rate of surgical repair was observed within one year of the presentation of landmark trial results in 2009 (p < 0.001). July 2009 was independently identified as a critical time at which the surgical repair rate began to significantly decline (p < 0.001). The dissemination of trial results was associated with a significant drop in the rate of surgical repair at non-teaching hospitals (p = 0.001). Conclusion. The current study demonstrates that large, well-designed randomised trials, have the potential to encourage significant changes in the practice patterns of orthopaedic surgeons. . Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1629–36

Aims. The aims of this study were to establish the incidence of acute Achilles tendon rupture (AATR) in a North American population, to select demographic subgroups and to examine trends in the management of this injury in the province of Ontario, Canada. Patients and Methods. Patients ≥ 18 years of age who presented with an AATR to an emergency department in Ontario, Canada between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013 were identified using administrative databases. The overall and annual incidence density rate (IDR) of AATR were calculated for all demographic subgroups. The annual rate of surgical repair was also calculated and compared between demographic subgroups. Results. A total of 27 607 patients (median age, 44 years; interquartile range 26 to 62; 66.5% male) sustained an AATR. The annual IDR increased from 18.0 to 29.3 per 100 000 person-years between 2003 and 2013. The mean IDR was highest among men between the ages of 40 and 49 years (46.0/100 000 person-years). The annual rate of surgical repair dropped from 20.1 in 2003 to 9.2 per 100 AATRs in 2013. There was a noticeable decline after 2009. Conclusion. The incidence of AATR is increasing in Ontario, while the annual rate of surgical repair is decreasing. A sharp decline in the rate of surgical repair was noted after 2009. This coincided with the publication of several high-quality RCTs which showed similar outcomes for the ‘functional’ non-operative management and surgical repair. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:78–86