Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37849599›Full record

ArticleCureus2023

Management of Distal Femur Fractures: Replacement Versus Surgical Fixation Versus Conservative Management.

Jamie C Routledge, Oladimeji Bashir, Mohamed Elbeshbeshy, Ahmed Y Saber, Adeel Aqil

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 28% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jamie C RoutledgeOrthopaedics and Trauma, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield, GBR.
Oladimeji BashirOrthopaedics and Trauma, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield, GBR.
Mohamed ElbeshbeshyOrthopaedics and Trauma, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield, GBR.
Ahmed Y SaberOrthopaedics and Trauma, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield, GBR.
Adeel AqilOrthopaedics and Trauma, Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield, GBR.
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDistal femur fractures are a frequently encountered injury, especially among the ageing population. Previous studies have identified that these fractures can be managed with a variety of methods and techniques which has led to an ongoing debate and investigation to decipher the optimal approach to manage these fractures.

aimThe purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of patients managed with either distal femur replacements (DFRs), surgical fixation (SF) or conservative management. Outcomes measured included length of hospital stay, readmission rates, 30-day mortality and Oxford Knee Score.

methodsA retrospective review was conducted, of patients admitted with distal femur fractures between June 2020 and October 2022 at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary Hospital. Patients with both native and peri-prosthetic joints were included. All patient's medical data, including imaging and operative records, were reviewed.

resultsA total of 42 patients were identified. There were six males and 36 females with a mean age of 78 years, a median age of 76 and a range of 35-102 years. Of these fractures, 15 were peri-prosthetic, and 27 were native joints. Of the patients, 30 had an SF, five had a DFR and the remaining seven were conservatively managed. Those managed with an SF had an average length of stay of 18 days, an Oxford score of 24 and two patients were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. For the DFR, the average length of stay was 16 days, an Oxford score of 22 and no patients were readmitted within 30 days. For the conservatively managed patients 21 days, an Oxford score of 25 and two patients were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. There was no 30-day mortality across all groups.

conclusionsFrom our study, we can conclude that patients who managed with a DFR had the shortest length of stay in a hospital and the lowest readmission rates when compared to alternative management techniques. There was minimal difference found between the Oxford scores between all three groups. This study shows that DFR can be a safe and reliable strategy to manage distal femur fractures. Additional research is required to further compare the outcomes of these different methods of repair.

Indexed as

complex distal femur fractureconservative vs surgical managementdistal femur fracturedistal femur fracture managementsurgical fixation

Identifiers

PMID37849599
PMCPMC10577514
OpenAlexW4386804921

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.