Elastic stabile intramedullary nailing (ESIN) of diaphyseal femur fractures in children and adolescents: A strobe-compliant study

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FRACTURES IN PEDIATRIC POLYTRAUMA PATIENTS: EVALUATION OF CLINICAL OUTCOMES

Objective

To evaluate children and adolescents with polytrauma and fractures of the pelvis and proximal and diaphyseal femur and correlate the impact of these conditions and clinical outcomes.

Methods

Retrospective study carried out in a public hospital in Taboão da Serra (SP), with pediatric patients with polytrauma from January 2012 to December 2021. In total, 44 patients were evaluated, 70.44% boys and 29.55% girls, aged from 12 to 17 years.

Results

Diaphyseal fracture of the femur affected 70.44% of the patients, mainly caused by a fall from a height (56.81%). Linear external fixation was the most used treatment (45.45%). All patients were discharged from hospital.

Conclusion

We found essential sociodemographic information: 84.11% of patients did not have associated injuries; 88.63% were hospitalized from 3 to 11 days; 90.91% did not need to be admitted to an ICU, 77.27% did not need reoperation, and 22.73% underwent another surgery; 45.45% used the external fixator to stabilize injuries; 11.36% converted the external fixator to the intramedullary nail; 9.09% needed an intramedullary nail remover; 2.27% converted to a plate (bilateral) and 2.27% to a rigid nail; 2.27% had loss of reduction and revision with rod; 2.27% underwent corrective osteotomy; 2.27% had clinical hospitalization; 2.27% had osteonecrosis of the femoral head and screws removed; 2.27% removed the plate. No deaths were recorded. Level of Evidence II, Retrospective Study.

Compared outcomes of femoral shaft fracture treatment in school-age children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Primary open reduction and intramedullary K-wire fixation versus traction followed by spica cast

BACKGROUND

Elastic stable intramedullary nailing has become the treatment of choice for femur shaft fractures in school-age children in developed world. However, in the sub-Saharan Africa, this management is still challenging because of the lack of fluoroscopy in more hospitals. We performed either primary open reduction and intramedullary K-wire fixation (PORIKF) or conservative treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and functional outcomes of these two procedures employed.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 62 children with 64 fractures (10 years on an average; range: 6-15 years) treating for femoral shaft fractures either by PORIKF (n = 21; 23 fractures) or skin traction followed by spica cast (n = 41) between 2008 and 2017. Outcomes were assessed using Flynn criteria. Comparisons were made by Fisher and Student's t-test with a significant P < 5%.

RESULTS

Outcomes were satisfactory in 21 cases (91%) in the PORIKF group compared with 32 (78%) in the conservative group (P = 0.3012). The average hospital stay was 18.6 days in the PORIKF group, whereas it was 20 in the conservative group (P = 0.0601). The mean time for bone union was 13.9 weeks in the PORIKF group and 13.2 weeks in the conservative group, (P = 0.4346). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of major complications (P = 0.0177). One patient had osteomyelitis in the PORIKF group. Unacceptable shortening >2 cm was observed only in the conservative group. The average time to return to daily activities was 30 days shorter in the PORIKF group when compared to conservative group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

PORIKF provides better results than conservative treatment. Open reduction did not increase the rate of infectious complication.

Dilemma for Fracture Fixation of Paediatric Ipsilateral Neck with Shaft Femur Fracture

BACKGROUND

Ipsilateral femoral neck with shaft fracture (IFNSF) in the paediatric population is a rare injury. This high-impact trauma is often associated with other orthopaedic and systemic injuries. Prognosis is usually guarded as both these osseous injuries are serious and exist together. We report two such patients of IFNSF.

METHODS

Two children with IFNSF were admitted at our hospital in 2018. The first patient had an associated head injury, while in the second patient, the shaft femur fracture was open. We report on the treatment and results in these two patients. Both the patients were serially assessed and followed 2 years after the injury.

RESULTS

Union was achieved in neck and shaft femur fractures in both the patients by 3 months. Complications like avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head, coxa vara, non-union or malunion of fractures, limb length discrepancy, knee and hip stiffness were not seen in either of the patients.

CONCLUSION

IFNSF is a rare injury pattern seen in children, usually associated with concomitant orthopedic and other systemic injuries. Early operative stabilization is the preferred modality of treatment. For an undisplaced neck fracture, a provisional temporary fixation of a relatively less displaced neck fracture, definitively stabilizing the shaft fracture, and thereby returning to fix neck fracture is advocated. For displaced neck fractures, a direct open reduction is advocated. Anatomical fixation with separate implants and a relatively longer immobilization can provide the best-expected results. Long-term follow-up is needed to foresee any complications.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

V (case series). Therapeutic.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-020-00315-z.

The optimal choice for length unstable femoral shaft fracture in school-aged children: A comparative study of elastic stable intramedullary nail and submuscular plate

The utilization of elastic stable intramedullary nail (ESIN) in length unstable femoral shaft fractures in children remains controversial, and the results in different studies vary a lot. This study aims to investigate the clinical outcomes of ESINs versus submuscular plate (SMP) in length unstable femoral shaft fractures.Patients aged 5 to 11 years old with length unstable femoral shaft fractures treated at our institute from January 2008 to January 2018 were included and categorized into ESIN and SMP group. The preoperative data and operative variables were collected from the hospital database, and postoperative data including complications were collected at follow-up visits.In all, 77 patients (8.1 ± 1.9 years old, male 45, female 32) in ESIN group and 45 patients (8.0 ± 2.2 years old, male 26, female 19) in SMP group were included in this study. Comparing operative variables, there was significantly less operative time, reduced estimated blood loss (EBL) and shortened hospital stay for ESINs as compared with SMP (P < .001). However, the fluoroscopy frequency was not significantly different between these 2 fixation methods (P = .42). As for elective removal surgery, there was significantly reduced operative time, EBL and shortened hospital stay for ESINs as compared with SMP (P < .001).Both ESIN and SMP are safe and effective choices for length unstable femoral shaft fractures in children aged 5 to 11 years. In ESIN, extra care is required to provide additional immobilization using spica cast or brace. Compared with SMP, ESIN is able to deliver comparable clinical outcomes with less EBL, operative time and shorter hospital stay.