Increased failure rates after the introduction of the TFNA proximal femoral nail for trochanteric fractures: implant related or learning curve effect?

Background and purpose — Trochanteric fractures are often treated using intramedullary fixation. In our institution, the TFN-Advanced Proximal Femoral Nailing System (TFNA) was introduced as replacement for the Gamma Trochanteric Nail (GTN3) for the treatment of these fractures as a result of a hospital-driven change of trauma implant supplier. We compared trochanteric fracture fixation failure rate between these 2 intramedullary nails. Patients and methods — All trochanteric fractures treated surgically from 2011 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed for fixation failure. From 2016 only the TFNA was used. Fixation failure was defined as implant cut-out, implant breakage, non-union, malpositioning of the screw/blade requiring reoperation, new fracture around the nail, or miscellaneous. Propensity score matching was used to balance distribution of covariates and to compare failure rates between TFNA and GTN3 groups. Learning curve analyseswere performed. Results — After exclusion, 797 GTN3s (779 patients) and 542 (536 patients) TFNAs were available for analysis. A higher risk of fixation failure was found in the TFNA group (14%) compared with the GTN3 group (7.0%) (hazard ratio [HR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–3.5). This was mainly attributed to a higher risk of cut-out (HR 2.2; CI 0.9–5.7), malpositioning (HR 4.7; CI 0.7–34), and new fracturearound the nail (HR 4.0; CI 1.0–16). Learning curve analyses indicated no clear learning curve effect. Interpretation — Failure of fixation increased after a switch from the GTN3 to the TFNA proximal femoral nail for the treatment of trochanteric fractures. Cut-out and malpositioning of the calcar screw or blade appeared to be the most dominant failure mechanisms. Modifications in implant design may have played a role in this increased risk of failure of fixation. In our institution a new implant device was introduced without solid clinical evidence behind it. This study may help to underline the need for medical doctors with acritical and scientific background to be involved in implant choices.

Outcome of dynamic hip screw with trochanteric stabilizing plate in treatment of unstable intertrochanteric femoral fractures in elderly patients.

Objective: To know about the outcome of dynamic hip screw with trochanteric stabilizing plate in treatment of unstable inter-trochanteric femoral fractures in elderly patients. Study Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Maqsood Medical Complex, Pak Medical Centre and Habib Medical Complex. Period: August 2016 to July 2018. Material & Methods: Total of 70 patients with unstable inter-trochanteric fracture and age above 60 years were included in the study. The fracture was fixed with dynamic hip screw and trochanteric stabilizing plate. Patients were evaluated every month after surgery for healing of fracture. Final functional outcome was measured at 6 months after surgery with Harris Hip Score. Results: Out of 70 patients 44 (63%) were females and 26 (37%) were males. Mean age was 74.34(SD + 08.31) years with range of 60 to 87 years. Mean Harris Hip Score at 6 months was 85% with standard deviation of± 4.Ten (14%) patients had excellent, 40 (58%) patients had good, 16 (23%) patients fair and 4 (5%) patients poor functional outcome. Conclusion: Excellent and good functional outcome can be achieved in unstable inter-trochanteric fractures fixed with dynamic hip screw and trochanteric stabilizing plate in majority of patients.

Increased mortality after intramedullary nailing of trochanteric fractures: a comparison of sliding hip screws with nails in 19,935 patients

Background and purpose — Intramedullary nails (IMN) have become increasingly common as treatment for trochanteric hip fractures (THF) although they are costlier, and without proven superiority compared with sliding hip screws (SHS). We investigated whether the 2 methods differ in terms of short-term mortality when used in fractures where both methods are suitable. Patients and methods — We extracted data from the Swedish Fracture Register (SFR) on 19,935 patients ≥ 60 years with trochanteric fractures AO type 31-A1 or -A2 who had been treated with either SHS or IMN. We assessed absolute mortality rates and the relative risks (RR) of death after 7, 30, 90, and 365 days using generalized linear models, adjusting for age, sex, and fracture type. We performed a sensitivity analysis on a subgroup of 3,673 patients with information on comorbidity to address this potential confounder. Results — 69% of the patients were women and mean age was 84 years (60–107). IMN was used in 35% of A1 and in 71% of A2 fractures. The use of IMN was associated with a slightly increased adjusted risk of death within 30 days compared with SHS (RR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.2) with no difference at any other time point. Interpretation — The slightly increased risk of death up to 30 days postoperatively does not support the use of IMN instead of SHS in stable THF.

Traumatic Hip Joint and Thigh Injuries – an Analysis of NHF Reporting Data from 2016-2019 Using the NHF Statistics API

Background. The hip joint is one of the most important joints in the human body. Although its multiaxial movements account for many benefits, they also render the hip one of the most hard-working joints. Injuries to the hip joint and thigh often occur as a result of a fall. According to epidemiologic data, such falls are most frequent in the elderly, particularly in osteoporosis sufferers. Material and methods. The “Services” component of the Statistics API version 1.0 provided by the National Health Fund (NHF) was used in order to evaluate the number of hospitalizations due to hip joint and thigh injuries. Information on the number of patients was obtained in a number of stages. The first stage involved determination of hip and thigh injuries as the main diagnosis. Then, the billing products which made possible settlement for hospitalization of patients with the selected diagnoses were chosen. The last stage consisted in the extraction of relevant medical data sets from the “Services” component of the NHF Sta­tistics API, which made possible this analysis. Results. According to the NHF reporting data, over the four-year period of interest there were approx. 42,000 hospitalizations per year. The most frequent causes of hospitalization were fractures of the neck of the femur (S72.0) and trochanteric fractures (S72.1), accounting for approx. 48% and 36% of all hospital stays, respectively. Conclusions. 1. Hip injuries constitute a significant health problem in Poland (approx. 42,000 hospitalizations per year). 2. The most frequent causes of hospitalization are injuries in the form of fractures of the neck of the femur or trochanteric fractures (corresponding to the ICD-10 codes S72.0 and S72.1, respectively). 3. It appears advisable to develop a tool to enable medical service providers to adjust their services to patients’ changing needs. This tool could em­ploy open-access data on injuries published in the NHF Statistics API.

Comparative study between proximal femoral nailing versus dynamic hip screw in unstable inter-trochanteric fractures of the femur in adults

Background: Hip fractures are more common in elderly among them intertrochanteric fractures are most common, more than 50% fractures are unstable. The proximal femoral nailing (PFN) and dynamic hip screw (DHS) are frequently used modalities from last two decades in both stable and unstable fractures. The DHS has been shown to produce good results but complications are frequent, particularly in unstable inter-trochanteric fracture. The advantage of PFN fixation is that it provides a more biomechanically stable construct with good collapse control. The goal of this study was to compare the clinical and radiographical results of the DHS and PFN for the treatment of inter-trochanteric hip fractures as one is load bearing another is load shearing.Methods: In our study we included 70 inter-trochanteric fractures, out of which 40 were treated with DHS fixation and 30 were treated with PFN, and were followed up at regular intervals of 2 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months and annually thereafter.Results: The functional results were assessed with Harris hip score and observed 35% excellent results in DHS group and 63.3% excellent results in PFN group. We observed no statistically significant difference between two groups in view of late and early complications and time to union. We observed significantly better outcomes in PFN group for unstable inter-trochanteric fractures and in unstable fractures reduction loss was significantly lower in PFN group. We observed total duration of surgery was significantly lower in PFN group.Conclusions: We concluded that PFN may be the better fixation device for most unstable inter-trochanteric fractures.

Peri-implant fracture: a rare complication after intramedullary fixation of trochanteric femoral fracture

Introduction Trochanteric femoral fractures are among the most common operatively treated fractures. Intramedullary fixation has become the treatment of choice in many centers around the world. Nevertheless, the knowledge of rare complications of these fractures is limited. In this study, the incidence and treatment strategies for peri-implant fractures (PIF) were assessed. Materials and methods A single-center retrospective cohort study was done on 987 consecutive operatively treated trochanteric fractures. PFNA cephalomedullary nail was used as a fixation method. All patients were followed up from patient records for peri-implant fractures. Plain radiographs as well as different salvage methods were analyzed and compared. Results The total rate of peri-implant fractures was 1.4% (n = 14). The rate of PIF for patients treated with short (200 mm) nails, intermediate-length (240 mm) nails, and long nails was 2.7% (n = 2), 1.5% (n = 11), and 0.7% (n = 1), respectively (ns, p > 0.05 for difference). Treatment of choice for PIF was either ORIF with locking plate (57%, n = 8) or exchange nailing (43%, n = 6). None of the PIF patients needed additional surgeries for non-union, malunion, or delayed union. Conclusions A PIF is a rare complication of intramedullary fixation of trochanteric fractures. It can be treated with either locking plates or exchange nailing with sufficient results. There are no grounds for favoring long nails to avoid PIFs.