Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36718643›Full record

ArticleBone & joint research2023

Proximal humerus fractures - epidemiology, comparison of mortality rates after surgical versus non-surgical treatment, and analysis of risk factors based on Medicare registry data.

Nike Walter, Dominik Szymski, Steven M Kurtz, David W Lowenberg, Volker Alt, Edmund Lau, Markus Rupp

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bone & joint research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
14.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Influence of allograft augmentation on surgical outcomes and complications in proximal humerus fractures: a matched-pair analysis.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Mortality in patients over 65 with proximal humerus fractures: a systematic review of 414,379 shoulders with meta-analysis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Major Upper-Extremity Fractures in Older Adults: Predictors of 5-Year Mortality.Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Increased all-cause mortality following proximal humerus fractures in Danish adults: a register-based matched cohort study of 93,952 fracture cases and 469,760 controls.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Changing Demographic and Treatment Trends of Proximal Humerus Fractures: A TriNetX Analysis of 74,781 Patients.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Nike WalterDepartment of Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0654-2076
Dominik SzymskiDepartment of Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1739-8524
Steven M KurtzImplant Research Center, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3885-500X
David W LowenbergDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Volker AltDepartment of Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0208-4650
Edmund LauExponent Inc, Menlo Park, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3427-1514
Markus RuppDepartment of Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7221-3783
University Hospital Regensburg · DEExponent (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsThe optimal choice of management for proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) has been increasingly discussed in the literature, and this work aimed to answer the following questions: 1) what are the incidence rates of PHF in the geriatric population in the USA; 2) what is the mortality rate after PHF in the elderly population, specifically for distinct treatment procedures; and 3) what factors influence the mortality rate?

methodsPHFs occurring between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019 were identified from the Medicare physician service records. Incidence rates were determined, mortality rates were calculated, and semiparametric Cox regression was applied, incorporating 23 demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic covariates, to compare the mortality risk between treatments.

resultsFrom 2009 to 2019, the incidence decreased by 11.85% from 300.4 cases/100,000 enrollees to 266.3 cases/100,000 enrollees, although this was not statistically significant (z = -1.47, p = 0.142). In comparison to matched Medicare patients without a PHF, but of the same five-year age group and sex, a mean survival difference of -17.3% was observed. The one-year mortality rate was higher after nonoperative treatment with 16.4% compared to surgical treatment with 9.3% (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23 to 1.36; p < 0.001) and to shoulder arthroplasty with 7.4% (HR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.58; p < 0.001). Statistically significant mortality risk factors after operative treatment included age older than 75 years, male sex, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, a concomitant fracture, congestive heart failure, and osteoporotic fracture.

conclusionMortality risk factors for distinct treatment modes after PHF in elderly patients could be identified, which may guide clinical decision-making.Cite this article:

Indexed as

chronic kidney diseasechronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseCox regression modelsepidemiologyEpidemiologyfracture of the proximal humerusManagementMortalitynonoperative managementosteoporotic fracturesPhysiciansProximal humerus fractureshoulder arthroplasty procedureSurgical treatment

Identifiers

PMID36718643
PMCPMC9950668
OpenAlexW4318669315

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.