Effect of locking plate fixation for proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of locking plate fixation in treatment of proximal humeral fractures in the elderly. Methods This retrospective case control study enrolled 96 patients with closed proximal humeral fractures admitted from October 2013 and October 2015. There were 52 males and 44 females, with age of (68.2±1.4)years (range, 62-74 years). According to the Neer classification of proximal humeral fractures, two-part fractures were noted in 27 patients, three-part fractures in 57, and four-part fractures in 12. According to the surgical methods, the patients were assigned to locking plate fixation (observation group) and anatomic plate fixation (control group), with 48 cases each. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, fracture healing time, varus angle of the humeral head, visual analogue score (VAS), Neer shoulder score for shoulder function and related complications were observed. Results All patients were followed up for 13-24 months (mean, 18.5 months). Better results were observed in observation group than control group in aspects of operation time [(51.2±14.8)minutes vs. (73.2±27.3)minutes], intraoperative bleeding[(158.3±32.9)ml vs. (270.9±34.8)ml], hospitalization time [(8.2±2.9)days vs. (13.1±2.2)days], fracture healing time [( 93.7±18.4)days vs. (122.9±18.9)days], varus angle of the humeral head [(2.2±1.8)° vs. (4.2±1.3)°], VAS[(2.0±0.7)points vs. (5.1±1.2)points], excellence rate of Neer score (98% vs. 90%) and postoperative complication incidence (10% vs. 21%) (P<0.05). Conclusion Compared with the anatomical plate, locking plate fixation has advantages of shorter operation time, less intraoperative bleeding, earlier bone healing, better shoulder movement and less postoperative complications in treatment of proximal humeral fractures. Key words: Humeral fractures; Aged; Fracture fixation, internal; Locking plate