Short- and medium-term effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate internal fixation in the treatment of femoral neck fractures in the elderly

Abstract

To investigate the short- and medium-term effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate (PCCP) internal fixation for femoral neck fractures in the elderly. The clinical data of 32 elderly patients with femoral neck fracture treated with PCCP internal fixation between January 2012 and January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All of them were traumatic fractures. The causes of injury were falling in 20 cases, traffic accident in 7 cases, and falling from height in 5 cases. According to Garden classification, there were 7 cases of type Ⅱ, 15 cases of type Ⅲ, and 10 cases of type Ⅳ; there were 12 cases with Singh index level Ⅳ, 14 cases with level Ⅴ, and 6 cases with level Ⅵ; the bone mineral density of femoral neck was 0.610-0.860 g/cm 2 (mean, 0.713 g/cm 2). The time from injury to operation was 3-14 days, with an average of 5.8 days. Patients began to weight-bear gradually within 3 days postoperatively. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization stay, fracture reduction (Garden alignment index), fracture healing, failure of internal fixation, femoral neck shortening, and osteonecrosis of the femoral head were observed; hip function recovery was evaluated by Harris score. The operation time was 35-135 minutes (mean, 73.4 minutes), the intraoperative blood loss was 75-385 mL (mean, 116.4 mL), the hospitalization stay was 3-15 days (mean, 8.3 days). At 1 week after operation, the Garden alignment index of fracture reduction was grade Ⅰ in 25 cases, grade Ⅱ in 6 cases, and grade Ⅲ in 1 case. One case of superficial infection of the incision occurred after operation, and no early complications such as deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremities, pulmonary embolism, or bedsores occurred. All the patients were followed up 2.1-4.0 years, with an average of 2.7 years. Except for 2 cases of delayed union (displaced trans-neck and subhead fractures), no nonunion of fracture and failure of internal fixation occurred, the fracture healing time was 4-8 months, with an average of 4.9 months. Femoral neck shortening occurred in 12 cases (37.5%); osteonecrosis of the femoral head occurred in 3 cases (9.4%), all of which were displaced trans-neck and subhead fractures, of which 2 cases received total hip arthroplasty and the other received conservative treatment. The Harris scores of the hip joint at 3 months, 2 years after operation and at last follow-up were significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05); there was no significant difference between each time point after operation ( P>0.05). At last follow-up, the hip joint function was evaluated according to Harris score, the results were excellent in 15 cases, good in 12 cases, and fair in 5 cases, with an excellent and good rate of 84.4%. There was no significant difference in postoperative hip function composition among patients with different ages, Garden classification, Singh index, and Garden alignment index ( P>0.05). For elderly patients with femoral neck fractures without severe osteoporosis and with relatively good physical conditions, PCCP internal fixation can achieve satisfactory short- and medium-term effectiveness, but there is a certain risk of osteonecrosis of the femoral head.