Table 4 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria

Middle-third/midshaft clavicle fracture

Majority site for clavicle fractures

Human subjects

Applicability to patients

IMN as only defined intervention

As per research question

Comparative study

To ensure papers selected for analysis were of a suitably high level in the evidence hierarchy [32] and allow comparison of intervention and comparator methods

In English language

Deemed financially and temporarily inappropriate for this review for translation services of non-English papers despite potentially excluding relevant papers

Published within last 10 years

To gain the most contemporary evidence available given scope of review

Exclusion criteria

Medial/lateral end of clavicle fracture

Rarer, uncommon type of fracture requiring different treatment considerations

Non-human subjects/animal studies

Applicability to patients

Alternative intervention, e.g. plating

As per research question

Non-comparative studies

To ensure papers selected for analysis were of a suitably high level in the evidence hierarchy [32] and allow comparison of intervention and comparator methods

Languages other than English

Deemed financially and temporarily inappropriate for this review for translation services of non-English papers despite potentially excluding relevant papers

Published prior to last 10 years

To gain the most contemporary evidence available given scope of review