Lateral Versus Supine Traction Position for Intertrochanteric Femoral Fracture Nailing: A Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Abstract

Background: Hip fractures are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. Surgical fixation using intramedullary nailing is common, with positioning options including lateral and supine on traction table. This meta-analysis aims to compare surgical and clinical outcomes between both techniques. Method: A systematic search was performed on the Medline database for articles comparing lateral and supine traction nailing intertrochanteric femoral fractures, reporting at least one of the following: surgical set up time, total surgical time, blood loss, fluoroscopy use, tip apex distance, reduction quality, Harris hip scores or complications. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS v9.4. In addition to meta-analysis of differences in means, differences in standardised means were also analysed to account for heterogeneity between hospital protocols and surgical teams. Results: Initial search returned 773 articles, of which four studies including 384 patients were included for final analysis. Set up time was increased in the supine traction group (random effects mean difference = 15.96 minutes, p = 0.026). Meta-analysis of random effects standardised means found increased total surgical time (mean difference = 0.8, p = 0.017), blood loss (mean difference = 1.1, p = 0.03) and fluoroscopy use (mean difference = 1.1, p = 0.0083). There were no statistically significant differences in tip apex distance, quality of reduction or Harris Hip Scores or complication rates between both groups. Conclusion: Femoral nailing in the lateral position is not inferior to supine traction; and is one of the tools available for a surgeon to achieve successful fixation.