A comparison of three fixations for intertrochanteric femoral fractures in the elderly

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy of 3 internal fixations, locking proximal femoral plate (LPFP), ASIAN IMHS and InterTAN, for intertrochanteric femoral fractures in elderly patients.MethodsA retrospective study was done to analyse 185 elderly patients who had been treated for intertrochanteric femoral fractures from February 2008 to December 2009 in our hospital and fully followed up.They were treated with LPFP (group A, 95 cases), ASIAN IMHS (group B, 52 cases) and InterTAN (group C, 38 cases) . Statistical analyses were conducted to compare the 3 groups in operative time, blood loss,fluoroscopy exposure, hospital charges, intrraoperative complications and functional outcome (Harris hip score).Results The average follow-up was 14. 5 months(from 6 to 28 months). Compared with group A, groups B and C showed significant advantages in operative time, blood 1oss and functional outcome but significant disadvantages in fluoroscopy exposure and hospital charges ( P ＜ 0. 05 ). Compared with group A,groups B and C had significant fewer implant failures ( P ＜ 0. 05). There were no significant differences in all the indexes between groups B and C( P ＞ 0. 05) .Conclusions The ASIAN IMHS and InterTAN appear to be more reliable than LPFP for the treatment of intertrochanteric femoral fractures in the elderly.There appear to be no significant differences between ASIAN IMHS and InterTAN. Key words: Hip fractures; Fracture fixation, internal; Internal fixators