This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Advantages seen with use of short vs long nails for patients with hip fractures
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
ORLANDO, Fla. — Patients with pertrochanteric fractures treated with either short cephalomedullary nails or long cephalomedullary nails had similar outcomes with regard to SF-36 and Harris hip scores, but patients in the short nail group had additional benefits, according to a presenter at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting.
“An interesting finding is our hospital length of stay was almost 2 days less in the short nail cohort.” Steven F. Shannon, MD, said during his presentation. “Our study demonstrates short nails are superior to long nails for the treatment of pertrochanteric fractures with shorter operative times, length of stay and less blood loss.”
Shannon and colleagues prospectively randomized 220 patients with pertrochanteric hip fractures to be treated with either a short or long cephalomedullary nail. There were 168 patients followed for a minimum of 3 months. The mean follow-up was 8.5 months. There were 52 patients who did not meet the minimum follow-up because most of these patients died. Similar demgraphics were seen in the two treatment groups regarding age, gender, diabetes, tobacco use, chronic kidney disease, BMI and AO/OTA fracture classification. Functional outcome measured at 3 months with SF-36 and Harris hip scores (HHS) was the primary outcome. Other outcomes included peri-implant failure, mortality, operative time, estimated blood loss and reoperation.
Patients treated with either a short nail or long nail had comparable results with regard to the SF-36 and HHS subscores. Investigators noted a small, clinically insigificant difference seen in the HHS between the short and long nail groups. A shorter operative time was seen in patients treated with a short nail with 51 minutes compared with 80 minutes for those treated with a long nail. – by Monica Jaramillo
Reference:
Shannon S, et al. Paper 68. Presented at: Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting; Oct. 18-20, 2018; Orlando, Fla.
Disclosure: Shannon reports no relevant financial disclosures.