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[Femoral neck fractures in childhood]
Insights
Operative treatment is recommended for displaced pediatric femoral neck fractures. This study found no significant outcome differences based on age, fracture type, or surgical timing, suggesting flexibility in management approaches.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic surgery
- Pediatric traumatology
- Biomechanical engineering
Context:
- Femoral neck fractures in children are rare but can lead to significant complications.
- Retrospective multicenter studies are crucial for understanding outcomes in uncommon pediatric injuries.
- Standardized protocols ensure reliable data collection for clinical and radiological parameters.
Purpose:
- To analyze factors influencing outcomes in pediatric femoral neck fractures.
- To investigate the impact of age at injury, fracture type, treatment delay, fixation method, and weight-bearing interval.
- To evaluate subjective, clinical, and radiological outcomes in a pediatric cohort.
Summary:
- This study reviewed 30 pediatric femoral neck fractures, with 96.7% being displaced.
- Non-operative treatment led to coxa vara and avascular femoral head necrosis in two cases.
- Operative treatment resulted in avascular femoral head necrosis (34.6%) and coxa vara (11.5%), with leg length discrepancies in 23%.
Impact:
- Operative fracture management remains the preferred treatment for displaced pediatric femoral neck fractures.
- No significant differences in outcomes were found based on fracture type, age, or surgical timing (<6 vs. >6 hours).
- The findings suggest that while operative intervention is key, timing may offer some flexibility in managing these complex injuries.
Abstract:
In a retrospective multicenter study we followed-up 30 fractures of the neck of the femur in children aged 11 years (1.5-15 years) for 4.8 years (0.5-20.0 years). It is the aim of this study to analyse factors possibly related to outcome, like age at injury, type of fracture, interval between injury and treatment, method of stabilization and postoperative interval until full weight bearing. At follow-up subjective parameters (pain, weather sensitiveness), clinical parameters (range of motion, claudication, leg length discrepancies) and radiological parameters (hip series) were investigated and medical charts and roentgenograms were reviewed using a standardized protocol. 29 of 30 children (96.7%) have sustained displaced fractures. Non-operative treatment has been applied in 4 children. 26 femoral neck fractures (type I: 1, type II: 8, type III: 17) were stabilized by internal fixation using screws and/or pins. Following non-operative treatment one child suffered a coxa vara and another child suffered a avascular femoral head necrosis in combination with coxa vara and leg length shortening of 4 cm. Following operative treatment 9 of 26 children (34.6%) suffered a avascular femoral head necrosis and 3 children (11.5%) suffered a coxa vara. In 6 of 26 children (23%) we observed leg length discrepancies > 2 cm. We were not able to demonstrate any significant follow-up result differencies between the groups of children who have sustained type II or type III fractures, or between the groups of children aged < 10 years when compared to children aged > 10 years, or between the group of children who were operated on within 6 hours after the accident when compared to the group of children operated > 6 hours after the accident. We observed no significant follow-up result differences between the groups of children who had different intervals between operation and full weight bearing. Operative fracture management remains the treatment of choice in the majority of displaced femoral neck fractures in children. However, in our limited study we were not able to demonstrate any significant follow-up result differences between the group of children treated by immediate open reduction and internal fixation (interval injury - operation < 6 hours) when compared to children who had been operated > 6 hours after the injury.