Abstract
This systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses was conducted to propose a principle to make decisions for comparing clinical safety and efficacy of surgical and non-surgical treatment for displaced 3-part and 4-part fractures of the proximal humerus. Three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library) were systematically searched to retrieve available published systematic reviews and meta-analyses comparing surgical versus non-surgical treatment for displaced 3-part and 4-part fractures of the proximal humerus. Ten meta-analyses were identified for this investigation. Based on the application of selection with the Jadad algorithm, a meta-analysis including 6 randomized clinical trials was selected for this systematic review, which demonstrated the best available evidence that no statistically significant differences were found in the Constant score, health-related quality of life, and mortality between surgical and non-surgical treatments for displaced 3-part and 4-part fractures of the proximal humerus; however, surgical treatment was associated with a significant increase in the incidence of reoperation. This systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses reveals that although surgical treatment is more advantageous than and superior to non-surgical treatment for displaced 3-part and 4-part fractures of the proximal humerus, the former leads to a higher incidence of postoperative complications.