Internal Fixation versus Hemiarthroplasty in the Treatment of Unstable Intertrochanteric Fractures in the Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Comparative Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Medical Expenses in Patients with Intertrochanteric Fracture Who Underwent Internal Fixation and Hemiarthroplasty

Purpose

The objective of this study was to assess postoperative direct medical expenses and medical utilization of elderly patients who underwent either hemiarthroplasty (HA) or internal fixation (IF) for treatment of a femoral intertrochanteric fracture and to analyze differences according to surgical methods and age groups.

Materials and Methods

Data from the 2011 to 2018 Korean National Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service database were used. Risk-set matching was performed for selection of controls representing patients with the same sex, age, and year of surgery. A comparative interrupted time series analysis was performed for evaluation of differences in medical expenses and utilization between the two groups.

Results

A total of 10,405 patients who underwent IF surgery and 10,405 control patients who underwent HA surgery were included. Medical expenses were 18% lower in the IF group compared to the HA group during the first year after the fracture (difference-in-difference [DID] estimate ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77-0.87, P<0.001), and 9% lower in the second year (DID estimate ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.99, P=0.018). Length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the IF group compared to the HA group during the first two years after time zero in the age ≥80 group.

Conclusion

A noticeable increase in medical expenses was observed for patients who underwent HA for treatment of intertrochanteric fractures compared to those who underwent IF over a two-year period after surgery. Therefore, consideration of such findings is critical when designing healthcare policy support for management of intertrochanteric fractures.

Should trochanteric fractures in elderly patients be treated by arthroplasty or internal fixation?

Most trochanteric fractures are treated by fixation, most often intramedullary. Nevertheless, the desire to have patients walk as soon as possible and the fear of fixation failure has driven some surgeons to carry out an arthroplasty instead, especially for unstable fractures and/or in patients with severe osteoporosis, in order to avoid the difficult conversion to arthroplasty later on if the fixation fails. The aim of this review was to specify the role, technique and results of performing arthroplasty in this context. In which fractures? Unstable fractures (A2.2, A2.3 and A3), especially in osteoporotic bone, which are the most difficult to reduce and fix, and in cases with associated osteoarthritis. For which patients? Arthroplasty should not be done in patients who have ASA≤3 due to greater blood loss and longer operative time. Since the postoperative Parker score often drops, arthroplasty should not be done in patients having a Parker score<6. What are the technical problems? Arthroplasty must be done by an experienced surgeon because of the lack of anatomical landmarks, although fracture fixation has its own demands (satisfactory reduction, appropriate length and position of cervicocephalic screw). What are the results and complications? Despite several comparative studies (randomized trials, meta-analysis and prospective studies), it is difficult to draw any conclusions. These studies show worse performance of dynamic hip screws relative to intramedullary nails. The complication and revision rates were higher for nails than arthroplasty, but not in every study, while the functional outcomes with nails (with or without immediate weightbearing) were better than those of arthroplasty beyond 6 months. What is the mortality rate? It was lower after nailing in a few studies but was mainly determined by the patient's comorbidities and preoperative Parker score. The best indication for arthroplasty may be self-sufficient patients over 70 years of age who have an unstable fracture with severe osteoporosis. Nevertheless, new studies should be done to compare arthroplasty to nailing with immediate return to weightbearing in patients having the same type of fracture, defined using 3D CT scan. Level of evidence: Expert advice.

Complication Rates and Survival of Nonagenarians after Hip Hemiarthroplasty versus Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation for Intertrochanteric Fractures: A 15-Year Retrospective Cohort Study of 113 Cases

OBJECTIVE

Intertrochanteric fracture is a very common but serious type of hip fracture in nonagenarians. The surgical treatment remains a significant challenge for orthopedists. The objective of this study was to investigate postoperative complications and survival outcomes compared between bipolar hemiarthroplasty (HA) and proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) in nonagenarians with intertrochanteric fractures, and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two surgical procedures in this patient population.

METHODS

A total of 113 consecutive nonagenarians who underwent bipolar HA or PFNA for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures from January 2006 to August 2021 were retrospectively studied in the current paper. There were 34 males and 79 females, with a mean age of 92.2 years (range 90-101 years) at the time of operation. The average duration of follow-up was 29.7 months (range 1-120 months). The full cohort was divided into bipolar HA (77 cases) and PFNA (36 cases) groups. Damage control orthopedics was used to determine the optimal surgery time and assist in perioperative management. A restrictive blood transfusion strategy was employed, along with appropriate adjustments under multidisciplinary assessment, throughout the perioperative period. Perioperative clinical information and prognostic data were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used for survival analysis, and landmark analysis divided the entire follow-up period into 1-12 months (short-term), 13-42 months (medium-term) and 43-120 months (long-term) according to the configurations of Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

RESULTS

Both groups had similar general variables except for the proportion of high adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (aCCI) (≥6 points) (6.5% in bipolar HA group and 22.2% in PFNA group, p = 0.024). Intraoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements were greater, and the intraoperative transfusion rates were higher in the bipolar HA group compared to the PFNA group (all p < 0.05). The complications rates, 1- to 60-month cumulative all-cause mortality, postoperative optimal Harris hip score (HHS), and Barthel index (BI) presented no significant difference between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Both groups had similar overall survival curves (p = 0.37). However, landmark analysis revealed that bipolar HA group exhibited higher survival rates in medium-term (p = 0.01), while similar survival rates were observed in the short- and long-term post-operation periods (both p > 0.05). Cox regression with survival-time-dependent covariate calculated the hazard ratio (HR) of bipolar HA was 0.41 in medium-term (p = 0.039).

CONCLUSION

Bipolar HA is equally effective and reliable as PFNA for treating intertrochanteric fractures in nonagenarians. Despite resulting in more intraoperative blood loss and transfusions, bipolar HA therapy is associated with a higher medium-term survival rate compared to PFNA treatment. The application of damage control orthopedics and precise perioperative patient blood management could contribute to the positive clinical outcomes observed in this patient population.

Mid-Term Follow-Up Results After Hemiarthroplasty Using Long Femoral Stem Prosthesis (Peerless-160) for Intertrochanteric Fractures in Octogenarians

Purpose

To analyze the clinical effect and imaging data of cementless bipolar hemiarthroplasty employing a long femoral stem (peerless-160) and 2 reconstructed femoral titanium wires to repair intertrochanteric fractures among the octogenarians.

Methods

Between June 2014 and August 2016, 58 octogenarians with femoral intertrochanteric fractures underwent the long femoral stem (peerless-160) cementless bipolar hemiarthroplasty by the same surgeon. We assessed clinical and radiological outcomes such as operative time, bleeding volume, blood transfusion volume, length of hospital stay, full weight-bearing walking time, walking ability calculated by Koval classification and Harris Hip Score (HHS), including fracture healing and greater trochanter fragments subsidence.

Result

The surgery was successfully performed in all patients. The average operation time was 72.8 ± 13.2 min, the average blood loss during surgery was 225.0 ± 91.4 mL, 200 mL of blood was transfused, the mean duration of hospitalization was 11.9 ± 4.0 days, the mean time of full weight bearing was 12.5 ± 3.8 days. Patients were followed up for 24-68 months, averagely 49.4 ± 10.3 months. During follow-up, 4 (6.9%) patients died, and 1 (1.7%) was completely lost to ask about the recent situation. The average Harris Hip Score at the last follow-up was 87.8 ± 6.1, most of the patients recovered walking ability, under radiological examination, the prosthesis showed no signs of loosening. All trochanteric fractures gradually healed, the clinical and radiographic signs of healing occurred at average of 4.0 ± 1.1 months postoperatively.

Conclusion

For osteoporotic unstable intertrochanteric fractures in octogenarians, this study confirmed that the Cementless Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty Using a Long Femoral stem (peerless-160) with double cross binding technique is a satisfactory and safe choice for the octogenarians.

Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 on Hip Fractures in Korea Without Lockdown: Interrupted Time Series Analysis Using a Nationwide Cohort

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in the incidence rate, length of hospital stay (LOS), in-hospital mortality rate, and surgical method of hip fractures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in South Korea where lockdown restrictions were not implemented.

METHODS

We calculated the expected values of the incidence of hip fractures, in-hospital mortality and LOS of hip fracture patients in 2020 (COVID period) based hip fracture database of the Korean National Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) during a 9-year period from 2011 to 2019 (pre-COVID period). A generalized estimating equation model with Poisson distribution and logarithmic link function was used to estimate adjusted annual percent change (PC) of incidence rate and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Then, we compared the annual incidence, in-hospital mortality rate and LOS in 2020 with the expected values.

RESULTS

The overall incidence rate of hip fracture in 2020 was not significantly different from the expected value (PC, -5%; 95% CI, -13 to 4; P = 0.280). In women, the incidence rate of hip fracture in age groups over 70 years was smaller than the predicted value (P < 0.001). The in-hospital mortality rate was not significantly different from the expected value (PC, 5%; 95% CI, -8 to 19; P = 0.461). The mean LOS was larger than the expected value by 2% (PC, 2%; 95% CI, 1 to 3; P < 0.001). In intertrochanteric fracture, the proportion of internal fixation was smaller than the predicted value by 2% (PC, -2%; 95% CI, -3 to -1; P < 0.001), and that of hemiarthroplasty was larger than the predicted value by 8% (PC, 8%; 95% CI, 4 to 14; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In 2020, the incidence rate of hip fracture did not significantly decrease, and in-hospital mortality rate did not significantly increase compared to the expected rates, which were projected based on the HIRA hip fracture data from 2011 to 2019. Only LOS increased slightly.

Mode of anesthesia is not associated with outcomes following emergency hip fracture surgery: a population-level cohort study

Background

Hip fractures often occur in frail patients with several comorbidities. In those undergoing emergency surgery, determining the optimal anesthesia modality may be challenging, with equipoise concerning outcomes following either spinal or general anesthesia. In this study, we investigated the association between mode of anesthesia and postoperative morbidity and mortality with subgroup analyses.

Methods

This is a retrospective study using all consecutive adult patients who underwent emergency hip fracture surgery in Orebro County, Sweden, between 2013 and 2017. Patients were extracted from the Swedish National Hip Fracture Registry, and their electronic medical records were reviewed. The association between the type of anesthesia and 30-day and 90-day postoperative mortality, as well as in-hospital severe complications (Clavien-Dindo classification ≥3a), was analyzed using Poisson regression models with robust SEs, while the association with 1-year mortality was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

A total of 2437 hip fracture cases were included in the study, of whom 60% received spinal anesthesia. There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of 30-day postoperative mortality (adjusted incident rate ratio (IRR) (95% CI): 0.99 (0.72 to 1.36), p=0.952), 90-day postoperative mortality (adjusted IRR (95% CI): 0.88 (0.70 to 1.11), p=0.281), 1-year postoperative mortality (adjusted HR (95% CI): 0.98 (0.83 to 1.15), p=0.773), or in-hospital severe complications (adjusted IRR (95% CI): 1.24 (0.85 to 1.82), p=0.273), when comparing general and spinal anesthesia.

Conclusions

Mode of anesthesia during emergency hip fracture surgery was not associated with an increased risk of postoperative mortality or in-hospital severe complications in the study population or any of the investigated subgroups.

Level of evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management, level III

Intramedullary Nail or Primary Arthroplasty? A System Review and Meta-Analysis on the Prognosis of Intertrochanteric Femoral Fractures Based on Randomized Controlled Trials

Introduction

There is no consensus regarding the superiority between intramedullary nailing and primary arthroplasty in the management of intertrochanteric femoral fractures. This systematic review was performed to investigate and compare the clinical efficacy of intertrochanteric femoral fractures treated with these 2 methods.

Materials and methods

We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of science core collection and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials which compared the clinical outcomes of intertrochanteric fractures treated with either intramedullary nails or primary arthroplasty. Relevant data of the postoperative complications, reoperations, mortality and functional assessment, were pooled and presented graphically.

Results

A total of 6 trials with 427 participants were identified and included in the analyses. The pooled estimates suggested these 2 techniques have comparable risks in terms of overall complications (pooled risk ratio [RR] .80; 95% confidence interval [CI] .43 to 1.43; I² = 79.94%), the rate of patients with orthopedic complications (RR .71, 95% CI .40 to 1.27; I² = .00%), reoperations (RR 1.33, 95% CI .48 to 3.71; I² = .00%), the overall mortality (RR .52; 95%CI .26 to 1.02; I² = 31.35%) and 1-year mortality (RR .67; 95%CI .38 to 1.19; I² = .00%). Primary arthroplasty associated with higher HHS at 3 months postoperatively (MD -21.95, 95% CI -28.29 to −15.60; I² = 70.44%). While the difference was not significant at 6 months (MD 2.32, 95% CI -1.55 to 6.18; I² = .00%), and even reversed at 12 months postoperatively (MD 13.02, 95% CI 8.14 to 17.90; I² = 73.42%).

Conclusions

Meta-analytic pooling of current evidences demonstrated that primary arthroplasty is related to a better early functional recovery at the early stage postoperatively, but the long-term result tends to favor to intramedullary nailing. The differences in overall complications, the rate of patients with orthopedic complications, reoperations, overall and 1-year mortality did not reach a significant level.

A New Nomogram Model for Predicting 1-Year All-Cause Mortality After Hip Arthroplasty in Nonagenarians With Hip Fractures: A 20-Year Period Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

China has become an ageing society and as it continues to age, it will face an increasing number of hip fractures in nonagenarians. However, few preoperative assessment tools to determine the postoperative mortality risk in nonagenarians with hip fracture were available. The aim of this study was to identify all-cause mortality risk factors after hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fractures and to establish a new nomogram model to optimize the individualized hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fractures.

Methods

We retrospectively studied 246 consecutive nonagenarians diagnosed with hip fracture from August 2002 to February 2021 at our center. During the follow-up, 203 nonagenarians with a median age of 91.9 years treated with hip arthroplasty were included, of which 136 were females and 67 were males, and 43 nonagenarians were excluded (40 underwent internal fixation and 3 were lost to follow-up). The full cohort was randomly divided into training (50%) and validation (50%) sets. The potential predictive factors for 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty were assessed by univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards regression on the training set, and then, a new nomogram model was established and evaluated by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves.

Results

After analyzing 44 perioperative variables including demographic characteristics, vital signs, surgical data, laboratory tests, we identified that age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aCCI) (p = 0.042), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification (p = 0.007), Urea (p = 0.028), serum Ca2+ (p = 0.011), postoperative hemoglobin (p = 0.024) were significant predictors for 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty in the training set. The nomogram showed a robust discrimination, with a C-index of 0.71 (95%CIs, 0.68–0.78). The calibration curves for 1-year all-cause mortality showed optimal agreement between the probability as predicted by the nomogram and the actual probability in training and validation sets.

Conclusion

A novel nomogram model integrating 5 independent predictive variables were established and validated. It can effectively predict 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fracture and lead to a more optimized and rational therapeutic choice.

Computer-assisted cannulated screw internal fixation versus conventional cannulated screw internal fixation for femoral neck fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

To compare the effects between computer-assisted and traditional cannulated screw internal fixation on treating femoral neck fracture.

Methods

The search was conducted in Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Database from the beginning to August 2020. RevMan5.4 software, which was provided by the International Cochrane Group, was used for the meta-analysis comparing the differences in operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, fluoroscopy frequency, fracture healing time, total drilling times, Harris score, fracture healing rate, and femoral head necrosis rate between computer-assisted and traditional methods groups.

Results

A total of 1028 patients were included in 16 studies. Primary outcome indicators: Compared with the traditional method group, the computer-assisted group had less operative time (2RCTs, P < 0.00001; 8 non-RCTs, P = 0.009; Overall, P < 0.00001), intraoperative bleeding (1 RCTs, P < 0.00001; 9non-RCTs, P < 0.00001; Overall, P < 0.00001), femoral head necrosis rate (1 RCT, P = 0.11;7 non-RCTs, P = 0.09; Overall, P = 0.02) and higher Harris scores (1 RCT, P < 0.0001; 9 non-RCTs, P = 0.0002; Overall, P < 0.0001), and there were no significant differences in fracture healing rate between the two groups (5 non-RCTs, P = 0.17). Secondary outcomes indicators: The computer-assisted group had a lower frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy and total number of drills compared with the traditional method group, while there was no significant difference in fracture healing time.

Conclusion

Compared with the traditional hollow screw internal fixation on the treatment of femoral neck fracture, computer-assisted percutaneous cannulated screw fixation can shorten the operation time and improve the operation efficiency and reduce the X-ray injury of medical staff and help patients obtain a better prognosis. Therefore, computer-assisted percutaneous cannulated screw fixation is a better choice for the treatment of femoral neck fracture.

Study registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42020214493.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-021-02806-7.

Arthroplasty vs proximal femoral nails for unstable intertrochanteric femoral fractures in elderly patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Proximal femoral nails (PFNs) are the most common method for the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric femoral fractures (IFFs), but postoperative bed rest is required. There is a large amount of blood loss during the operation. Osteoporosis in elderly patients may cause nonunion of fractures and other complications. Arthroplasty can give patients early weight bearing and reduce financial burden, but whether it can replace PFNs remains controversial.

AIM

To compare the clinical outcomes of arthroplasty and PFNs in the treatment of unstable IFFs in elderly patients.

METHODS

A search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases and included relevant articles comparing arthroplasty and PFN. The search time was limited from January 1, 2005 to November 1, 2020. Two investigators independently screened studies, extracted data and evaluated the quality according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. According to the research results, the fixed effect model or random effect model were selected for analysis. The following outcomes were analyzed: Harris Hip score, mortality, complications, operation time, blood loos, hospital stay, weight-bearing time, fracture classification and type of anesthesia.

RESULTS

We analyzed four randomized controlled trials that met the requirements. A total of 298 patients were included in these studies. According to the AO/OTA classification, there are 20 A1 types, 136 A2 types, 42 A3 types and 100 unrecorded types. Primary outcome: The Harris Hip Score at the final follow-up of the PFN group was higher [mean difference (MD): 9.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 16.57 to 1.45), P = 0.02]. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the rate of overall mortality [risk ratio (RR): 1.44, P = 0.44] or the number of complications (RR: 0.77, P = 0.05). Secondary outcomes: blood loss of the arthroplasty group was higher (MD: 241.01, 95% CI: 43.06–438.96, P = 0.02); the operation time of the PFN group was shorter (MD: 23.12, 95%CI: 10.46–35.77, P = 0.0003); and the length of hospital stay of the arthroplasty group was shorter [MD: 0.97, 95% CI: 1.29 to 0.66), P < 0.00001]. There was no difference between the two groups in the type of anesthesia (RR: 0.99). There were only two studies recording the weight-bearing time, and the time of full weight bearing in the arthroplasty group was significantly earlier.

CONCLUSION

Compared with PFN, arthroplasty can achieve weight bearing earlier and shorten hospital stay, but it cannot achieve a better clinical outcome. Arthroplasty cannot replace PFNs in the treatment of unstable IFFs in elderly individuals.

Treatment of Intertrochanteric Femur Fractures with Hip Arthroplasty in Older Patients: A Narrative Review of Indications and Outcomes

Intertrochanteric femur fractures are common in older patients and often have a significant impact on disability. The treatment aims to achieve a rapid return to the prior functional level with a low rate of complications and mortality. Surgical management by internal fixation is the mainstay of treatment for most of these fractures. Even when treated with intramedullary nails, the overall complication rates are high, especially for unstable or highly comminuted fractures or in the presence of poor bone quality. Hip arthroplasty is an alternative in older patients with intertrochanteric femur fractures at high risk of fixation failure or with concomitant intraarticular pathologies. Especially patients whose condition precludes prolonged bedrest and who are at risk of significant deterioration if their locomotor function cannot be restored rapidly are likely to benefit from hip arthroplasty. The choice of the surgical technique mainly depends on the surgeon’s preferences and the fracture characteristics. Bipolar hemiarthroplasty is the most common type of prosthesis used with primary or revision femoral stems. Compared with intramedullary nails, hip arthroplasty has a better early functional outcome and lower rates of surgical complications as well as reoperations. However, the functional outcome and the mortality rate in the longer term tend to favor intramedullary nails, even though the results are inconsistent, and a statistically significant difference cannot always be obtained. Currently, there are no guidelines that define the role of hip arthroplasty in the treatment of intertrochanteric femur fractures in older patients. The literature only offers an overview of the possibilities of the usage of hip arthroplasty, but methodological limitations are common, and evidence levels are low. Further studies are needed to identify the intertrochanteric fractures that are at high risk of internal fixation failure, the characteristics that determine which patients may benefit most from hip arthroplasty, and the optimal surgical technique.