The Use of Eponyms for Surgical Approaches and Fractures in Elbow Surgery: Accuracy and Reliability Pre- and Post-Training

The use of eponymous terms in orthopedic trauma surgery is common. In an assessment pre-training versus posttrainingat an AO Advanced Elbow Trauma Course, we aimed to report on (1) the accuracy and (2) reliability of 10common eponymous terms used for surgical approaches and fractures in elbow surgery. Before training, eponymswere described correctly in 38% of questions versus 47% after training. The percentage of correct answers onlyimproved significantly in one question (P<0.005). A generalized kappa of 0.37 before training versus 0.31 aftertraining represents an overall fair reliability of the eponymous terms. In conclusion, the accuracy and reliabilityof eponymous terms used in elbow surgery is disappointing. Moreover, this type of standardized training formatdoes not seem to improve the knowledge of eponymous terms of experienced trauma- and orthopedic surgeons.Therefore, we suggest considering descriptive terms or standardized fracture classifications instead of eponymousterms.Level of evidence: II