Displaced Proximal Humerus Fractures: is a Sling as Good as a Plate?

The treatment of displaced proximal humerus fractures is challenging and complex, as its success is predicated on multiple factors. While it is clear that a majority of proximal humerus fractures may be treated nonoperatively, it is less clear which patients benefit from surgical management. The PROFHER trial, a randomized controlled study, used patient-reported outcomes to compare surgical to nonsurgical management of displaced proximal humerus fractures. The purpose of this review is to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the PROFHER trial and to assess the validity of its conclusion in the context of existing literature. The authors found no difference in the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) between the surgical and nonsurgical groups. Additionally, no difference was found between groups in any of the secondary outcomes, which included the Short-Form 12 (SF-12) health survey, surgical and fracture-related complications, additional surgery or therapy, inpatient medical complications, and mortality. They concluded that the recent increase in surgical management of proximal humerus fractures is perhaps unwarranted. While the randomization was successful and the pragmatic design may enable greater generalizability, this study possesses numerous flaws inherent in such an ambitious endeavor, including an inability to identify specific factors which explain the lack of superiority of surgical management. Despite its weaknesses, this study is a valuable datapoint which encourages surgeons to reexamine their surgical indications for this injury.