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      Diaphyseal Femoral Fractures in Children: Comparison Between Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing and Conservative Management

      , ,
      The Open Orthopaedics Journal
      Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.

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          Abstract

          Background:

          Femoral shaft fractures are one of the most common fractures of the lower extremities in children. Although many approaches and options are available for their treatment, the most appropriate treatment option for school going children is still debatable.

          Objective:

          This study investigated the efficacy, safety, and outcome of surgical intervention with Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing (ESIN) in 3–12-year-old children with diaphyseal femoral fractures and compared them with those of conservative management.

          Methods:

          In this prospective study, 41 children with diaphyseal femoral fractures were recruited between April 2013 and April 2016. The fractures were divided into two equal groups: one treated with ESIN, and the other with early spica casting or noninvasive traction followed by hip spica casting. Demographic data, clinical information, and serial radiographic findings were collected and compared between the two groups. Flynn’s scoring criteria pertaining to time to union, assisted weight bearing, independent ambulation, return to school, and complications were applied. Fischer’s exact test was used for statistical analyses.

          Results:

          Compared with spica casting-treated fractures, ESIN-treated fractures healed faster with lower average time to assisted weight bearing, independent ambulation, and return to school. Hip spica-treated children had a higher rate of major complications than ESIN-treated children. At 1-year follow-up, higher limb length discrepancy was reported in hip spica-treated children than in ESIN-treated children ( P< 0.001).

          Conclusion:

          ESIN is a safe and effective approach for treating femoral shaft fractures in children; it provides better functional and radiographic outcomes than spica casting and can be used in preschool-age children.

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          Most cited references22

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          Comparison of titanium elastic nails with traction and a spica cast to treat femoral fractures in children.

          Titanium elastic nails are commonly used to stabilize femoral fractures in school-aged children, but there have been few studies assessing the risks and benefits of this procedure compared with those of traditional traction and application of a spica cast. This prospective cohort study was designed to evaluate these two methods of treatment, with a specific focus on the first year after injury, the period when the treatment method should have the greatest impact. Eighty-three consecutive children, six to sixteen years of age, were studied prospectively. Factors that were analyzed included clinical and radiographic data, complications, hospital charges, and outcome data. Outcome and recovery were assessed both with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Pediatric Outcomes Data Collections Instrument, version 2.0, and according to a series of important recovery milestones including the time to walking with aids, time to independent walking, time absent from school, and time until full activity was allowed. Thirty-five children (thirty-five fractures), with a mean age of 8.7 years, were treated with traction and application of a spica cast, and forty-eight children (forty-nine fractures), with a mean age of 10.2 years, were treated with titanium elastic nails. All fractures healed, and no child sustained a complication that was expected to cause permanent disability. At one year after the fracture, eighty of the children had acceptable alignment and no inequality between the lengths of the lower extremities. The remaining three children, who had an unsatisfactory result, had been treated with traction and a spica cast. Twelve patients (34%) treated with traction and a cast had a complication compared with ten patients (21%) treated with titanium elastic nails. Compared with the children treated with traction and a cast, those treated with titanium elastic nails had shorter hospitalization, walked with support sooner, walked independently sooner, and returned to school earlier. These differences were significant (p < 0.0001). We could detect no difference in total hospital charges between the two groups. The results of this prospective study support the recent empiric observations and published results of retrospective series indicating that a child in whom a femoral fracture is treated with titanium elastic nails achieves recovery milestones significantly faster than a child treated with traction and a spica cast. Hospital charges for the two treatment methods are similar. The complication rate associated with nailing compares favorably with that associated with traction and application of a spica cast.
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            Complications of elastic stable intramedullary nail fixation of pediatric femoral fractures, and how to avoid them.

            Flexible intramedullary nailing has become a popular method of fixation of pediatric femoral fractures. The authors analyzed their first 5-year experience with titanium elastic stable intra-medullary nailing, specifically to report the complications associated with this technique and to provide recommendations to avoid these complications. Seventy-eight children with 79 femoral fractures were treated by this method. Complications included pain/irritation at the insertion site (41), radiographic malunion (8), refracture (2), transient neurologic deficit (2), and superficial wound infection (2). Ten patients required reoperation prior to union. Malunion and/or loss of reduction requiring reoperation was strongly associated with the use of nails of mismatched diameters (odds ratio = 19.4) and comminution of more than 25% (odd ratio = 5.5). Pain at the insertion site was significantly associated with bent or prominent nail ends. Most complications are minor, and many are preventable. Surgeons should advance nail ends to lie against the supracondylar flare of the femur to avoid symptoms at the insertion site and should avoid implanting nails of two different diameters. Comminuted fractures should be monitored carefully and might benefit from additional immobilization. Copyright 2004 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
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              Elastic stable intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures in children.

              We report the use of elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN) in 123 fractures of the femoral shaft in children. Flexible rods are introduced through the distal metaphyseal area, and the aim is to develop bridging callus. Early weight-bearing is possible and is recommended. There was one case of bone infection and no delayed union. Complications were minimal, the most common being minor skin ulceration caused by the ends of the rods. A surprising feature was the low incidence of growth changes, with a mean lengthening of only 1.2 mm after an average follow-up of 22 months. Compared with conservative treatment, ESIN obviates the need for prolonged bed rest and is thus particularly advantageous for treating children.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                The Open Orthopaedics Journal
                TOORTHJ
                Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
                1874-3250
                October 31 2018
                October 31 2018
                : 12
                : 1
                : 435-444
                Article
                10.2174/1874325001812010435
                cd863579-4078-42ee-92ea-aa2f4ff511c7
                © 2018

                https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

                History

                Medicine,Chemistry,Life sciences
                Medicine, Chemistry, Life sciences

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