Neglected neck femur fractures in adolescents and young adults: factors predicting the surgical outcome

Patient-reported outcomes in young patients with isolated fracture of the hip

AIMS

Hip fractures in patients < 60 years old currently account for only 3% to 4% of all hip fractures in England, but this proportion is increasing. Little is known about the longer-term patient-reported outcomes in this potentially more active population. The primary aim is to examine patient-reported outcomes following isolated hip fracture in patients aged < 60 years. The secondary aim is to determine an association between outcomes and different types of fracture pattern and/or treatment implants.

METHODS

All hip fracture patients aged 18 to 60 years admitted to a single centre over a 15-year period were used to identify the study group. Fracture pattern (undisplaced intracapsular, displaced intracapsular, and extracapsular) and type of operation (multiple cannulated hip screws, angular stable fixation, hemiarthroplasty, and total hip replacement) were recorded. The primary outcome measures were the Oxford Hip Score (OHS), the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L), and EQ-visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. Preinjury scores were recorded by patient recall and postinjury scores were collected at a mean of 57 months (9 to 118) postinjury. Ethics approval was obtained prior to study commencement.

RESULTS

A total of 72 patients were included. There was a significant difference in pre- and post-injury OHS (mean 9.8 point reduction (38 to -20; p < 0.001)), EQ-5D (mean 0.208 reduction in index (0.897 to -0.630; p < 0.001)), and VAS , and VAS (mean 11.6 point reduction (70 to -55; p < 0.001)) Fracture pattern had a significant influence on OHS (p < 0.001) with extracapsular fractures showing the least favourable long-term outcome. Fixation type also impacted significantly on OHS (p = 0.011) with the worst outcomes in patients treated by hemiarthroplasty or angular stable fixation.

CONCLUSION

There is a significant reduction in function and quality of life following injury, with all three patient-reported outcome measures used, indicating that this is a substantial injury in younger patients. Treatment with hemiarthroplasty or angular stable devices in this cohort were associated with a less favourable hip score outcome. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(6):766-771.

Neglected femoral neck fractures in cerebral palsy: a narrative review

Hip fractures are severe conditions with a high morbidity and mortality, especially when the diagnosis is delayed, and if formulated over 30 days after the injury, is termed a 'neglected femoral neck fracture' (NFNF).Cerebral palsy (CP) is probably one of the major risk factors for NFNF in Western countries, mainly because of both cognitive and motor impairments. However, considering the high prevalence of fractures in these patients, the incidence of NFNF in this population is probably underestimated, and this condition might result in persistent hip or abdominal pain.Several techniques are available for the treatment of NFNF (i.e. muscle pedicle bone graft, fixation with fibular graft, valgisation osteotomy), but most of them could affect motor function.Motor function must be preserved for as long as possible, in order to enhance the quality of life of CP patients.After discussing published NFNF cases in CP patients and available treatment options, a practical approach is proposed to facilitate the orthopaedic surgeon to both early identify and appropriately manage these challenging fractures. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:58-64. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.190019.

Impaction Bone Grafting and Valgus Osteotomy: A Technical Trick for the Treatment of Femoral Neck Nonunions

Femoral neck nonunions in young adults is among the most challenging problems to treat. This is due to their inherent problems, such as neck resorption, increase in fracture gap, sclerosis of fracture margins, and avascular necrosis. Hip salvage in these cases, although challenging, is recommended in the Asian subcontinent where social and religious activities require squatting and sitting cross-legged. Muscle pedicle grafts and other vascularized bone grafting techniques are preferred treatment options, but they are technically demanding and require advanced microsurgical skills. Valgus osteotomy, although successful in certain cases, has a high failure rate in patients with poor bone stock. We present a simple technique of valgus subtrochanteric osteotomy, impaction bone grafting, and stabilization with a sliding hip screw. Here, we describe in detail about the surgical technique and present the clinical outcomes in 44 patients, with a mean follow-up of 3.4 years and a union rate of 95.5%.

Surgical treatment of neglected hip fracture in children with cerebral palsy: case report and review of the literature

CASE

A clinical case of a 15-year-old cerebral palsy child with a Sandhu type 2 neglected femoral neck fracture is presented. The patient was treated using cannulated screws and cancellous bone graft augmented with mesenchymal stem cells. At 6 months after the surgery complete fracture healing was observed.

CONCLUSION

To early diagnose this fractures, it is mandatory to perform a comprehensive clinical and radiological evaluation including also a second level imaging. The use of cannulated screws with cancellous bone graft and MSCs is a viable treatment option in these patients.

Treatment of neglected femoral neck fracture

Intra-capsular femoral neck fractures are seen commonly in elderly people following a low energy trauma. Femoral neck fracture has a devastating effect on the blood supply of the femoral head, which is directly proportional to the severity of trauma and displacement of the fracture. Various authors have described a wide array of options for treatment of neglected/nonunion (NU) femoral neck fracture. There is lack of consensus in general, regarding the best option. This Instructional course article is an analysis of available treatment options used for neglected femoral neck fracture in the literature and attempt to suggest treatment guides for neglected femoral neck fracture. We conducted the "Pubmed" search with the keywords "NU femoral neck fracture and/or neglected femoral neck fracture, muscle-pedicle bone graft in femoral neck fracture, fibular graft in femoral neck fracture and valgus osteotomy in femoral neck fracture." A total of 203 print articles were obtained as the search result. Thirty three articles were included in the analysis and were categorized into four subgroups based on treatment options. (a) treated by muscle-pedicle bone grafting (MPBG), (b) closed/open reduction internal fixation and fibular grafting (c) open reduction and internal fixation with valgus osteotomy, (d) miscellaneous procedures. The data was pooled from all groups for mean neglect, the type of study (prospective or retrospective), classification used, procedure performed, mean followup available, outcome, complications, and reoperation if any. The outcome of neglected femoral neck fracture depends on the duration of neglect, as the changes occurring in the fracture area and fracture fragments decides the need and type of biological stimulus required for fracture union. In stage I and stage II (Sandhu's staging) neglected femoral neck fracture osteosynthesis with open reduction and bone grafting with MPBG or Valgus Osteotomy achieves fracture union in almost 90% cases. However, in stage III with or without AVN, the results of osteosynthesis are poor and the choice of treatment is replacement arthroplasty (hemi or total).